Spotify Car Thing: Difference between revisions

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===Class-action lawsuit against Spotify (''May 2024'')===

Spotify was served a [[class-action lawsuit]] in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on 28 May 2024. The lawsuit claimed "Spotify misled consumers by selling them a soon-to-be obsolete product and then not offering refunds, reports Billboard".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Sarah |title=Spotify Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over ‘Car Thing’ Deactivation: ‘A Useless Product’ |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/30/spotify-begins-offering-car-thing-refunds-as-it-faces-lawsuit-over-bricking-the-streaming-device/ |website=TechCrunch |date=30 May 2024 |access-date=12 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250129011219/https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/30/spotify-begins-offering-car-thing-refunds-as-it-faces-lawsuit-over-bricking-the-streaming-device/ |archive-date=29 Jan 2025}}</ref> Prior to the lawsuit's filing, Spotify had set up a refund page for buyers through e-mail which directs customers to [https://support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/ this link], where customers can receive a refund with proof of purchase (excluding resales). The lawsuit was dismissed by the plaintiffs after Spotify began issuing refunds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Dylan |title=‘Car Thing’ Class Action Lawsuit Voluntarily Dismissed After Spotify Begins Issuing Refunds |url=https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2024/07/10/spotify-car-thing-lawsuit-dismissed/ |website=Digital Music News |date=10 Jul 2024 |access-date=12 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721014704/https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2024/07/10/spotify-car-thing-lawsuit-dismissed/ |archive-date=21 Jul 2024}}</ref>

==See also==

* '''Pencil by FiftyThree''' (2013–2019) was a Bluetooth active stylus sold by FiftyThree, Inc., designed to work with their Paper drawing app for iPad. Its key features — palm rejection, eraser, and Blend — relied entirely on Bluetooth integration with the Paper app via a proprietary SDK. FiftyThree discontinued its hardware business in 2016, and was acquired by [[WeTransfer]] in August 2018. In 2019, WeTransfer discontinued support for the Pencil in the Paper app, reducing the device to a basic passive stylus. The device's active features were never recoverable through third-party means. This is an early example of active hardware rendered functionally downgraded by a software decision made after purchase, without recourse for the consumer.

==References==

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 ===Class-action lawsuit against Spotify (''May 2024'')===
 Spotify was served a [[class-action lawsuit]] in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on 28 May 2024. The lawsuit claimed "Spotify misled consumers by selling them a soon-to-be obsolete product and then not offering refunds, reports Billboard".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Sarah |title=Spotify Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over ‘Car Thing’ Deactivation: ‘A Useless Product’ |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/30/spotify-begins-offering-car-thing-refunds-as-it-faces-lawsuit-over-bricking-the-streaming-device/ |website=TechCrunch |date=30 May 2024 |access-date=12 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250129011219/https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/30/spotify-begins-offering-car-thing-refunds-as-it-faces-lawsuit-over-bricking-the-streaming-device/ |archive-date=29 Jan 2025}}</ref> Prior to the lawsuit's filing, Spotify had set up a refund page for buyers through e-mail which directs customers to [https://support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/ this link], where customers can receive a refund with proof of purchase (excluding resales). The lawsuit was dismissed by the plaintiffs after Spotify began issuing refunds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Dylan |title=‘Car Thing’ Class Action Lawsuit Voluntarily Dismissed After Spotify Begins Issuing Refunds |url=https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2024/07/10/spotify-car-thing-lawsuit-dismissed/ |website=Digital Music News |date=10 Jul 2024 |access-date=12 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721014704/https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2024/07/10/spotify-car-thing-lawsuit-dismissed/ |archive-date=21 Jul 2024}}</ref>
+==See also==
+* '''Pencil by FiftyThree''' (2013–2019) was a Bluetooth active stylus sold by FiftyThree, Inc., designed to work with their Paper drawing app for iPad. Its key features — palm rejection, eraser, and Blend — relied entirely on Bluetooth integration with the Paper app via a proprietary SDK. FiftyThree discontinued its hardware business in 2016, and was acquired by [[WeTransfer]] in August 2018. In 2019, WeTransfer discontinued support for the Pencil in the Paper app, reducing the device to a basic passive stylus. The device's active features were never recoverable through third-party means. This is an early example of active hardware rendered functionally downgraded by a software decision made after purchase, without recourse for the consumer.
 ==References==