If you’ve been putting off buying a Stream Deck because you think it’s too expensive, there’s good news for you. Elgato has launched a budget lineup of streaming accessories under the new brand, which includes a webcam, mic, lights, and, of course, a budget stream deck. The Stream Deck Neo is one of the more promising devices in the lineup.
You can watch the Stream Deck Neo review below in English or continue reading the article.
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What’s in the box?
The unboxing experience is rather simple. All you get is a simple recycled cardboard box, some paperwork, and the actual device itself.
It’s a relatively simple plastic construction with a folding stand at the back, allowing you to prop up the device either flat on its back or in two viewing angles. The kickstand also has a notch for the braided USB-C cable to go through making cable management a little easy.
Standout features make Stream Deck Neo unique
Once you get it out of the box, you just plug it into a USB-C port on your PC, download the Stream Deck software, and you’re good to go. It would have been nice if the cable was removable like in the other stream decks, and if it was USB-A, but all things considered, it’s not a major inconvenience.
Now, while the Streameck Neo is identical to every other stream Deck in terms of software and functionality, it’s aimed more towards professionals looking to up their productivity rather than streamers. You can see hints of this in the rounded edge design and the white aesthetic as it’s built for offices or just about any other surrounding other than gamer caves where Stream Decks usually find themselves.
This might not seem like a lot, but the capacitor touch buttons are a lifesaver compared to a regular Stream Deck. If you want to have more than 15 commands, you’re going to have to create another page. And if you have more than one page, you’re going to have to assign at least 2 buttons on your stream deck to be able to switch back and forth between pages.
This limits the number of buttons that you can actually use on the device, especially if you’re on the StreamDeck Mini, which only has 6 buttons to begin with. The Neo, on the other hand, gets 8 LCD keys that can be programmed to do whatever you like, and since you don’t have to assign individual keys to change pages, you can actually make use of all of those buttons.
Elgato’s software does the heavy lifting
Setting up the StreamDeck is also rather easy. In a nutshell, once you’ve installed the Elgato Stream Deck software and logged in, which is required to download plugins, icons, and SFX from the Elgato marketplace (you hate to see it, but it’s there) you can just plug in your Stream Deck Neo and you’ll be good to go with the default profiles.
After that, the sky is the limit, as you can literally deck this thing out however you want. Since the functionality and software are pretty much identical to every other stream deck, I’m not going to talk a lot about this, but overall, you can do some pretty cool stuff in the Stream Deck software like switching scenes or sources in OBS, controlling your music, putting your subscriber count on a key, making shortcuts for folders or Windows actions, assigning hotkeys for games or programs like Premiere Pro.
It also has profiles that automatically change based on what program you’re running. That said, while the possibilities are endless, you’ll have to tinker around a bit in the Stream Deck software before you’ll be able to get the most out of your device.
The software isn’t very complicated, and if you’ve set up something like a gaming keyboard or mouse in the past, you’ll be able to get up to speed in no time at all. However, if you’re a newcomer to this, you’re gonna have to spend some time learning the ropes.
Not all is great with the new stream deck though, and I do have some complaints. They’re not major in any way, and they weren’t a deal breaker for me, but after using it every day for 3 weeks, I do feel like they could have enhanced the user experience.
Not everything is perfect
First up, there’s no onboard storage on the new. I’m not sure if this is the case with the other stream decks as well, but what this means is that unless you’ve got the software running in the background, the device is useless. It also takes away from the convenience of setting up the device once and then using it with whatever computer or wherever you want.
Next up, are the capacitive touch buttons. They’re great. I love them, but if you leave the Stream Deck Neo unattended for a while, they do require you to press them kind of twice. I’m not sure if this is a hardware or a firmware issue, but it can bother you every once in a while. The buttons do have a pretty big border around them, so you can be a little loose where you touch them, but the first response seems to be slow a lot of the time.
The info bar is great, but I would have liked to see more functionality or customisation here. Considering you can do literally anything you want on the keys, the options for the info bar are extremely limited. It does look like they might add additional functionality for this later, and I’m hoping that happens. But in its current state, the info bar is a missed opportunity.
Build quality and price
Finally, the build quality feels a little cheap. It mostly seems like a cost-cutting measure, and I do understand why Elgato has made these decisions. But for a device that you’re constantly going to be touching and interacting with, I just feel like they should have done a better job, especially with the keys.
They can be a little wobbly if you get them at the right angle sometimes, so watch out for that.
Overall, the Stream Deck Neo is a pretty handy desk gadget for people who spend their days at a desk, which is most of you, I suppose.
Coming in at Just in $100 or ₹8500 if you’re in India, the software support is great, the hardware is reasonably well made, and once you’ve got it set up and running, it will soon become something you can’t live without.
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