Touchscreen controls are an elegant solution when you can look at the device as you’re using it, but they’re less convenient when you’re driving. Sometimes it’s easier to feel around for a button or dial on the dashboard so you can keep your eyes on the road.
With the launch of a device meant to make it easier to enjoy streaming content in a car, Spotify offers drivers a choice of four methods of control: voice, physical buttons, a dial and a touchscreen. The company notes on its website that this allows users to “ask, tap, turn, or swipe” to get the content they want to hear.
Dubbed “Car Thing,” Spotify’s new hardware looks like a mobile phone with a dial on the front. The device connects to the user’s phone and car, using the phone’s data and Spotify app, but allowing them to be controlled through Car Thing.
Letting Drivers Focus on What’s Important
The launch of Car Thing comes about three months after Spotify pulled Car View, a feature that replaced the app’s normal interface with a simplified version when the user’s mobile phone was connected to a car.
PYMNTS noted at the time that this pointed to the importance of voice control inside the car, allowing hands-free operation of audio streaming as well as other functions for reasons of safety and convenience.
Read more: Spotify to Integrate Voice With In-Car Streaming Service
On web pages devoted to Car Thing, Spotify outlines how the new device enables users to navigate through the content in several different ways.
The voice function is designed for in-car use with microphones and technology designed to prioritize the user’s voice over the ambient noise that’s heard while driving. Users can say, “Hey, Spotify,” and then ask for the content they want. The company says on its website, “Car Thing responds to your voice, letting you focus on what’s important.”
The body of the device has a textured surface that’s designed to make it easy for drivers to navigate and find the buttons and dial they’re looking for. Four of the five buttons are presets that can be changed by the user, while the dial lets the user browse the content in a hands-on way.
Car Thing also has its own touchscreen, which displays the content that’s playing and allows users to swipe to play something else.
Outlining Best Practices for Apps in Cars
Google and Apple too have addressed best practices for optimizing apps for use in cars.
In its pages on “Design for Driving foundations,” Google notes that apps should keep information current and glanceable, encourage hands-on driving, prioritize driving tasks and discourage distraction.
“App content and interactions should complement the driving experience while minimizing driver distraction,” Google advises. “[User interface] must be simplified to help keep the driver’s eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.”
In the CarPlay section of its “Human Interface Guidelines” for developers, Apple notes that its apps designed for use while driving require only brief interactions, while voice interaction with Siri enables control while keeping eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.
“The audio app, automaker app, messaging app, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) app you design should be just as simple and easy to operate,” Apple says.
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