iPadOS 13.5.5 Beta Code Points to Keyboard Shortcuts

Apple appears to be developing keyboard shortcuts, adding the ability to control certain functions without having to refer to Control Center.

It seems as though Apple is tackling one of the more common user complaints when it comes to keyboards designed for iPads. Many keyboards, including the Magic Keyboard, are compact by nature and don’t include function keys, media controls, etc.

According to 9to5Mac, the iPadOS 13.5.5 beta code suggests functions such as controlling brightness through a shortcut could be implemented. The discovered code signals that users could control screen brightness and possibly even the backlight of the keyboard by setting shortcuts via the settings.

Currently, these shortcuts don’t appear to be active, which suggests that Apple may flip the switch on this in a future iPadOS update. However, the existence of such code does bode well to users who have been looking for this quality of life improvement.

As of now, Apple has included the “remap modifier key” functionality to enable users to customize the keys of their keyboards. The ESC key, for example, does not exist on Apple’s keyboards. Therefore, users can assign another key to function as the ESC key. Shortcuts could work in a similar way. Users could potentially assign a combination of keys, similar to “Command+C” to copy, without losing the key’s original function.

These shortcuts could very well be added when Apple launched iPadOS 14, which may likely be revealed during WWDC later this month.