This handy streaming tool is getting an ‘XL’ upgrade
The Stream Deck XL has more than twice as many LCD buttons as the regular version.
If you subscribe to the idea that bigger is better, you're going to like what Elgato has done with its Stream Deck accessory for streamers. Elgato announced a new Stream Deck XL, which as the name implies is an enlarged version, with 32 LCD buttons.
That is more than twice as many as the original Stream Deck, which has 15 LCD buttons, and a whole bunch more than the Stream Deck Mini (six buttons).
As with the Stream Deck and Stream Deck Mini, the new XL model sports fully programmable LCD buttons, with one-touch operation. Users can program these buttons to initiate a variety of tasks: open programs, execute keyboard or mouse macros, start or stop a stream, adjust audio and lighting, and so forth. They're basically hotkeys.
There also exist a bunch of plugins, including ones for Discord. And if you're a developer, you can make your owns using the Stream Deck SDK.
The Stream Deck XL isn't cheap, though. It's available now direct from Corsair (which bought Elgato last year) for $249.99. The regular Stream Deck sells for $149.99, while the Stream Deck Mini goes for $99.99
Elgato also announce a Stream Deck Mobile app that fills your smartphone with 15 virtual buttons. It's only available for iOS at the moment, with no word on when or if there will be an Android version.
If you're interested, you can try the app for free, for three days. Should you decide you like it, the full version runs $2.99 per month, or $24.99 per year.
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Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).