Elgato’s Stream Deck devices are fashionable among some gamers and streamers and gadget nerds moving from location acknowledgment to their unique, customizable keys. Stream Decks tin beryllium utilized for thing you mightiness privation to propulsion a fastener for, specified arsenic muting a microphone successful a video call, controlling astute lights, oregon adjacent moving automations connected a computer. The latest introduction into the lineup, the Stream Deck Plus, steps up the hardware crippled by adding a tiny touchscreen on with a slope of rotary dials. It allows for immoderate absorbing caller applications, adjacent if it isn’t afloat realized successful its existent state.

While the hardware of the Stream Deck Plus breaks caller crushed for Elgato, Loupedeck, different shaper of power peripherals, has been each successful connected dials since time one. Loupedeck’s products are remarkably akin to what’s offered by Elgato, with a ample room of escaped applications to assistance optimize your workflow. There’s a just magnitude of overlap successful what’s offered by the 2 developers, but Loupedeck’s products and applications are pointed much toward creatives spending their clip engrossed successful photograph oregon video editing, portion Elgato tends to absorption mostly connected streamers and contented creators. 

The Stream Deck Plus is $199.99, which is much costly than the modular Stream Deck MK. 2 ($149.99) oregon Stream Deck Mini ($79.99) but is inactive little costly than the oversize $249.99 Stream Deck XL. The closest analog extracurricular of the Elgato ecosystem that provides akin hardware is the $179.99 Loupedeck Live S. 

Despite the imaginable of the Stream Deck Plus’ caller hardware, determination aren’t capable functions that marque usage of it yet, which makes its $200 terms tag a pugnacious sell.

The astir important quality betwixt the Stream Deck Plus and anterior models is its 4 rotary dials, located beneath the customizable buttons. Dials person been a staple connected different streaming devices similar the Loupedeck for immoderate time. They’ve adjacent started to amusement up connected keyboards, too, truthful the information that Elgato added a fewer knobs to its hardware seems similar a logical adjacent step. Thankfully, Elgato understands the value of haptics, and the caller hardware is beauteous dope. The dials consciousness bully to use, with grippy textured sides, and determination successful intelligibly felt steps. Each dial tin besides beryllium pushed with a satisfying click, which gives them a 3rd input successful summation to rotating near oregon right. The full happening benignant of looks similar a miniature mixing committee acknowledgment to those dials.

The dials tin beryllium utilized to marque tiny adjustments to values and properties connected your desktop. This tin beryllium the output measurement of circumstantial devices oregon applications oregon fine-tuning the brightness of compatible lighting elements. However, the champion usage I recovered was assigning a dial to power multimedia playback. Because each measurement registers arsenic a azygous input, I programmed 1 dial to skip backmost and distant done my Spotify playlists successful summation to pausing and resuming playback. That would person different needed 3 abstracted buttons with a accepted Stream Deck.

If 4 dials aren’t capable for your needs, Elgato has besides included what it’s calling “Dial Stacks.” Accessible done the Elgato software, each dial stack allows you to furniture aggregate functions connected a azygous dial, letting you rhythm done layers by pushing the dial. The existent relation being utilized is past reflected connected the surface supra the corresponding dial.    

The different summation to the Stream Deck Plus is simply a constrictive touchscreen situated conscionable beneath the acquainted programmable keys and supra the dials. Software divides this azygous surface into 4 sections, each 1 corresponding to immoderate relation the dial beneath is mapped to. 

The surface feels precise akin to the Corsair iCue Nexus, which is an LCD touchscreen that attaches to your keyboard to show strategy accusation oregon supply entree to further macros and circumstantial functions. Considering that Corsair and Elgato became portion of the aforesaid larger company, it seems apt that immoderate of the aforesaid tech was adopted for the Stream Deck Plus. 

The touchscreen is bright, legible, and responsive. Though it’s comparatively tiny and has a alternatively chunky bezel astir it, the 1200 x 800 solution is crisp and casual to read. It besides allows you to swipe betwixt aggregate pages of your existent Elgato profile, a relation that usually requires programming a dedicated button. 

Unfortunately, portion the surface responds to pat controls, these are tied exclusively to the corresponding dial relation you’ve assigned, which renders the touchscreen incompatible with the plug-ins utilized with the regular Stream Deck buttons. The closest you tin get close present is assigning blistery keys to the dials, but this feels similar a squandered opportunity. 

As this is simply a Stream Deck, determination are 8 customizable keys with LCD screens wrong of them that alteration their quality depending connected what relation they’re programmed to. Eight keys are 2 much than you get connected the Stream Deck Mini but 7 less than connected the midsize Stream Deck MK. 2. But the Plus’ dials efficaciously supply 4 much buttons for customized functions, truthful the fig of hardware things you tin customize totals 12.

The feedback from the buttons connected the Stream Deck Plus has stayed the aforesaid from erstwhile iterations, but they’re inactive amusive to push. They’ve each got a membrane power with a tactile bump that provides capable acknowledgment to your poking and prodding.

The tiny LCD screens built into them enactment a assortment of representation formats for customized icons, including GIFs. These tin beryllium programmed to show app icons oregon adjacent alteration their quality erstwhile a presumption changes connected a instrumentality (like erstwhile a mic is blistery oregon a camera is on).

All of the buttons connected the Stream Deck Plus are conscionable somewhat larger than connected the older models. It’s not a immense change, but it does assistance successful keeping each of those tiny icons much legible astatine a distance.

Compared to the Stream Deck MK. 2, the Plus is somewhat taller and wider. The attached basal sits the Plus astatine a fixed 45-degree space conscionable similar the MK. 2 but is secured to the show with a brace of Phillips-head screws. Thankfully, this hardware is exposed and casual to region if you’d similar to laic the show flat, but wherefore Elgato abandoned adjustable stands with the archetypal Stream Deck remains a mystery. Finally, conscionable similar different Stream Deck models, the Plus connects to your PC via a azygous USB-C to USB-A cablegram from the backmost of the unit. 

The hardware is amusive to look astatine and feels great, truthful it’s unfortunate that the inferior for the dials and touchscreen is highly constricted close now. Only a fistful of plug-ins are available, and 2 of them are tied straight to Elgato applications that are intended to beryllium utilized with Elgato hardware. While third-party developers presently person the resources they request to make plug-ins for the caller hardware, astatine the clip of writing, the pursuing database of applications is each that’s disposable if you don’t ain further Elgato hardware.

The pursuing necessitate an Elgato camera and Elgato Key lights, respectively: 

Normally with the Stream Deck, I tally retired of buttons earlier I tally retired of plug-ins, but currently, I’m struggling to find ways to usage the 4 dials provided connected the Stream Deck Plus. Even immoderate elemental functions similar adjusting the brightness of the (non-Elgato) astute lighting successful my location oregon mounting timers would wage dividends successful expanding the entreaty of the Stream Deck Plus.  

Elgato’s bundle to programme the Stream Deck hasn’t received immoderate drastic changes to accommodate the Plus, for amended oregon worse. That is to say, if the Stream Deck bundle oregon marketplace gave you fits, you won’t find thing successful its latest mentation that’s almighty capable to alteration your mind. There is simply a tiny learning curve to the software, particularly if you’re caller to the Stream Deck, but the interface is beauteous straightforward and tin beryllium understood without having to experimentation excessively much.

Adding functions to the assorted inputs connected the Stream Deck is accomplished via resistance and drop, with immoderate changes reflected instantly connected your device. The archetypal database of applications baked into the Elgato bundle erstwhile you archetypal instal it is simply a spot underwhelming. All of the chill worldly you tin bash with a Stream Deck is tucked distant successful the Elgato marketplace oregon connected random GitHub pages, which doesn’t marque it casual to find caller plug-ins unless you cognize precisely what you’re looking for. Right now, if you hunt for Twitch- oregon Discord-adjacent plug-ins, you’ll get a minimum of 5 similar-looking results that mightiness bash the aforesaid thing. It’s pugnacious to cognize without really going done the process of installing them. 

Unfortunately, the Stream Deck idiosyncratic acquisition is inactive a “you get retired of it what you enactment into it” situation, which isn’t terribly charismatic for anyone who doesn’t person the clip to troll the Elgato Reddit oregon experimentation with antithetic plug-ins. It isn’t casual to find what you privation connected Elgato’s marketplace, but it does person a wealthiness of escaped worldly for you to customize your Stream Deck with. However, galore of the aforesaid goodies you tin get connected the Elgato marketplace are disposable for Loupedeck devices, too. But since each of Loupedeck’s products person had dials connected them since time one, determination are acold much plug-ins that marque afloat usage of the hardware.

I don’t privation to sound the marketplace excessively much, though. It tin beryllium a mess, sure, but it’s besides liable for giving the Stream Deck the versatility that truthful galore owners payment from. In summation to dedicated plug-ins for Twitch and YouTube, determination are plug-ins to presumption banal prices, power Midi devices, oregon set the astute lighting astir your home. Much of this added functionality and entreaty is acknowledgment to the efforts of third-party developers similar Krabs, which is liable for starting Stream Deck Labs, an enactment not affiliated with Elgato that serves arsenic a mode for different devs to coordinate their efforts arsenic they pertain to the Stream Deck.  

The immense magnitude of escaped contented is adjacent much astonishing erstwhile you see that developers presently deficiency immoderate mode to monetize their contributions officially. Every plug-in is simply a purely voluntary publication made to the larger Elgato community. Several of the plug-ins I usage for my idiosyncratic Stream Deck are each built by third-party developers. If Elgato plans to recognize the imaginable of the Stream Deck Plus oregon immoderate planned hardware successful the future, it volition beryllium the efforts of the assemblage that marque it happen. 

It’s hard to urge the Stream Deck Plus successful its existent authorities erstwhile little costly Stream Decks that marque amended usage of their hardware exist. As chill arsenic they are, the inferior for the dials and touchscreen is highly constricted close now, with lone a fistful of plug-ins disposable and with immoderate tied straight to Elgato applications that are intended to beryllium utilized with Elgato hardware. 

I’m excited to spot what the Stream Deck Plus volition beryllium susceptible of a twelvemonth from present aft developers person had clip to decently exploit the hardware. If you’re dying to get your knob hole close present and don’t ain a clump of different Elgato hardware, my proposal is to cheque retired the Loupedeck Live S. It doesn’t person a touchscreen oregon arsenic galore knobs, but the buy-in is somewhat little astatine $180. 

If you’re looking for a mode to spice up your work-from-home oregon gaming experience, you mightiness privation to look into the Elgato Stream Deck Mini. It lone has six buttons but inactive has entree to each the aforesaid plug-ins for conscionable $80.

It’s a harmless stake that aboriginal versions of the Stream Deck volition besides person dials and screens connected them, but hopefully determination volition beryllium amended enactment for those features erstwhile those devices arrive.