Spotify is removing Car View with no immediate plans for a replacement

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If you use Spotify for your in-car listening while on your way to work, you might have noticed that your UI no longer changes when you connect to your car’s Bluetooth connection. That’s because Spotify has shuttered Car View, leaving its many users without a good alternative.

Android Police noticed a thread in Spotify’s user forum, where users were complaining that the Car View option had disappeared from their devices. That wasn’t a bug, however, as a Spotify moderator turned up to say that the Car View option was being removed on purpose, while “actively exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience.“

If you’ve been relying on the simplified Car View while listening in your car, it’s time to figure out another way. The integration with either Google Assistant or Siri works well, giving you hands-free control over Spotify while driving.

You should be using hands-free while driving anyway, so maybe removing Car View is going to be a better safety feature than having it in the first place.

If you miss Car View, you can sign up to buy the $79.99 Car Thing, the company’s upcoming hardware that’s probably the safest way to use Spotify in your car.

The little gadget connects to your Spotify via your phone, shows what’s playing, what’s in your library, and what’s in voice search results, with a handy dial for easy navigation. Or, yanno, you could just use Google Assistant or Siri, as the company suggests.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.