Elgato Stream Deck MK.2

The Stream Deck MK.2 is a little desktop panel of 15 keys, and every key is a tiny LCD screen you can assign to anything: mute the mic, switch scenes in OBS, fire off a clip, post to social, dim the Philips Hue lights, skip a Spotify track. Because each key displays its own icon and updates to confirm the command went through, you never have to memorize which cryptic keyboard shortcut does what. Press the button with the picture on it, the thing happens.

It earned its reputation with Twitch and YouTube streamers, but the plugin library has quietly made it a productivity tool too. Video editors, photographers, and podcast producers bind their most repetitive multi-step actions to single keys, and one press replaces a whole ritual of clicking through menus. It works on both Mac and PC. As a gift it hits a sweet spot: it looks like pro broadcast equipment, it costs far less than it appears to, and the person receiving it will spend a happy evening just configuring their buttons.