Loupedeck is coming for the Stream Deck with its latest PC console, the Loupedeck Live S. This is a somewhat simplified version of its larger or more varied consoles, with a couple of dials, buttons and a large touchscreen to sit under your screen. For that it's launching a little cheaper, with hopes of appealing to streamer's sensibilities.
Now the Loupedeck isn't just one of those words that the more you look at it the weirder it appears, it's also a way to place a bunch of useful shortcuts on your desktop. The Loupedeck Live S offers a touch panel grid of 3 x 5 buttons that can be set to open apps, operate PC functions, or select stuff. If that sounds vague, it's because you can set them to quite a lot of functions on a per-app basis, including Twitch, OBS, Streamlabs and creative programs from the likes of Adobe and kin.
You can also swipe through up to 14 pages of shortcuts, so you probably won't run out of them anytime soon. The previous Loupedeck I reviewed was also context-dependent, meaning it changed with the active window on your PC to be relevant to that app or window, and I would guess the same goes here with the S since it uses the same software.
I checked out the Loupedeck Live last year and its mechanical dials and tactile inputs satisfy some innate need for that which lies deep in my subconscious. That aside, these are ultimately handy tools if you find yourself often doing something that takes up all your screen space but you need to tweak things in the background. That's often streamers, but you can use these devices for other purposes.
I will admit that in my experience I do sometimes find these sorts of devices gathering dust unless I find a specific use for them. In the Loupedeck's case, I largely find a use for it as a media controller for when I was testing keyboards without media controls built-in.
Best gaming monitor: Pixel-perfect panels for your PC
Best high refresh rate monitor: Screaming quick screens
Best 4K monitor for gaming: When only high-res will do
Best 4K TV for gaming: Big-screen 4K PC gaming
So, yeah, probably worth knowing what you're going to use it for before you hit purchase so you don't end up scraping for one like me.
The Loupedeck Live S will go on sale over on Indiegogo from today, where it can be picked up for as cheap as $106 for the first 99 people. Beyond that, it goes up gradually in price for a few tiers, but will ultimately sell for $149 to whomever wants it. That's quite a bit cheaper than the regular Live at $269.
