Author: Jin Fujisaki / Published: 2026-02-04
You want to finish work faster. With that in mind, you try to memorize the shortcut keys for Excel or Photoshop, but they're so complex your fingers can't keep up. Or there's the emptiness of typing out that "Thanks for your hard work. This is so-and-so." email template by hand every single day.
"If only every operation I use frequently could be executed with a single button." This device fulfills that lazy yet desperate wish — and it's actually become standard equipment in the streamer community.
What we're introducing this time is Elgato's "Stream Deck Neo." This white box, fitted with 8 LCD buttons, is the ultimate time-saving gadget that absorbs every "this is annoying" moment in your desk work and processes it with a single click.
| Physical buttons that display icons
image Elgato
Originally, the "Stream Deck" series was a tool for YouTubers and streamers to play sound effects or switch screens during a broadcast. But because it's so incredibly convenient, it's now being adopted in droves by businesspeople as the "ultimate left-hand device."
The mechanism is simple. You can assign any function you like to each of the 8 physical buttons. And the biggest feature is that the buttons themselves are tiny "LCD screens."
"Copy." "Paste." "Launch Zoom." "Mic mute." Since you can display an icon on each button corresponding to its function, you'll never wonder, "Wait, what does this button do again?" You can execute complex PC operations with the same feeling as tapping an app on your smartphone.
| Office work gets blazingly fast. How to make a "magic button"
image Elgato
So what exactly can it do? Let's look at some examples for the business scene.
- "Boilerplate text" button: Instantly type out "Thank you for your continued support. This is Sato from XYZ Corporation."
- "Bulk app launch" button: Open Chrome, Slack, Excel, and your calendar all at once with a single click at the start of the workday.
- "Web meeting" button: Toggle Zoom's mic mute/unmute with the button right at your fingertips, without hunting for your mouse.
- "Window arrangement" button: Snap your scattered windows neatly into place — browser on the left half, editor on the right half.
These are just a few examples. Since you can also register "multiple operations performed in sequence (multi-action)," you can even automate routine work like "open a file, enter a specific date, save, and close."
| The "Neo" design, refined for general users
image Elgato
Up until now, when people thought of Stream Deck, they pictured "gaming gear" — black and bulky. But this "Neo" is different.
It has a clean white body and rounded design. It blends right in whether placed on an office desk or beside a MacBook. The button count is on the smaller side at 8, but with the folder function you can effectively register an infinite number, so it's more than enough for light users.
Furthermore, an "info bar" (a thin, elongated LCD) has been added below the buttons, allowing you to check the current date and time, CPU usage, or which page of shortcuts is currently displayed.
| Who is it for? Every human being who uses a PC
image PRTIMES
This device is a tool that the following types of people in particular should adopt:
- Office workers who repeatedly copy, paste, and apply formatting in Excel or spreadsheets
- Anyone who wants to prevent the "I forgot to mute my mic" accident during online meetings
- People who are bad at memorizing complex shortcut keys
- Creators who want to speed up their video or photo editing
The price is around 14,000 yen. You might be surprised — "14,000 yen for 8 buttons?" — but the time it saves you adds up to dozens of hours per year. Once you use it, you won't be able to go back to a life without buttons.
| Summary: Spend your time on "thinking," not "operating"
image Elgato
Stream Deck Neo is a tool that "shortcuts" (takes a shortcut through) all the wasted motion in your PC operations.
Move the mouse cursor, open a menu, click. Those few seconds, stacked on top of each other, are eating away at your concentration. Leave all the tedious operations to this white box, and spend your time on the "thinking work" that only humans can do.
