For an old car without Bluetooth (like mine), the setup can be frustrating. Where the Car Thing falls flatīecause the Car Thing doesn’t actually connect to your stereo but rather your smartphone, it’s really best for cars that already have Bluetooth abilities (and those more modern setups usually allow you to control your music to some degree on the built-in console without assistance from a gadget like the Spotify Car Thing). However, that phone also needs to be connected to the car’s stereo, either by Bluetooth or auxiliary cord, as the Spotify Car Thing connects only to the smartphone, not to the car’s stereo itself. It also requires a Bluetooth connection to the phone you’re using to control the music.

It takes quite a bit of pressure to click these mounts into place with the Car Thing itself, and in our tests they didn’t have particularly great grip. It comes with three mounts-a dash mount, a vent mount, and a CD mount.

The Car Thing requires power and includes a USB car charger base that has two USB ports so you can still charge your phone. (I quickly reprogrammed the shortcut buttons to go directly to my latest lo-fi playlist and my partner’s crazy-cool mix of Australian surf rock.) The default settings feel a little like Spotify’s homepage: a mix of your own playlists and other playlists Spotify suggests based on your listening habits. There are also four shortcut buttons on the top of the device, which you can either program with specific playlists or artists you listen to frequently or leave as is with Spotify’s preset settings, which take you to a page of Spotify-recommended jams. You can then use the small round button below the knob to select. The right-side knob allows you to partially control the volume (you need to have your own stereo already turned up fully) and scroll through your Spotify catalog. The smarts come from its Spotify-specific voice assistant, which you can command via “Hey Spotify” to control your music.

It’s a little smaller and slimmer than a smartphone, and its most noticeable feature is the large round knob on the right side. The $90 Car Thing is a “smart player” that connects to your phone and car for hands-free music.

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