New Delhi: Back in 2019, Spotify had launched a special Car View mode for its Android app, which featured a simplified interface with larger buttons to make it simpler for people to operate the app while driving. The company is now officially retiring the Car View mode, according to reports.
The news was recently confirmed by a moderator post on the official Spotify forums and was spotted by Android Police.
The post reads, "We can confirm that we're retiring the Car View feature. This, however, doesn't mean we don't want to improve on how our users listen to Spotify while driving." Spotify is also actively exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience, according to the post.
The Car View mode was meant to prevent drivers from being distracted while driving. Irrelevant elements like menu buttons and album art were removed by the Car View mode when a person connected the app to the car over Bluetooth. However, Spotify is removing the Car View mode to "make way for new innovations", the company said in the post.
Spotify Is Going Hands-Free
Work is happening "backstage" on "improving the experience" in the car, the post said. One can also use Google Assistant or Siri to launch songs on Spotify while driving, the moderator suggested.
The Spotify interface can be directly accessed on the screen if one's car stereo dashboard supports Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
Since there are other ways to handle music playback in cars, Spotify is de-prioritsing the Car View mode.
Spotify Pushing People Towards Car Thing
Some Spotify users mentioned in the forum thread that the company could be trying to push people towards Car Thing, which is the smart player from Spotify that fills one's car with music, news, entertainment, and talk, among others.
The Car Thing may be helpful in the absence of the Car View mode. However, the Car Thing may not be needed because one can simply mount the phone on the car and control Spotify directly.