According to a report, the iPad mini 6, launched as early as last fall, has become Apple’s first tablet to provide the directional function of the smart volume button. Now, the feature has expanded to the rest of the iPad lineup, changing the iPad’s volume buttons to match its orientation.
Matt Birchler found that Apple has recently added the option to customize the volume buttons on more iPads. In testing, the change appeared on iPadOS 15.4 on the iPad Pro and iPad Air.
The default setting enabled on iPad is Fixed Position Volume Control. But now with the off option, the volume “button will change dynamically based on the orientation of your iPad”.
While this may take some getting used to, as fixed volume buttons on iPads have been the norm for the past decade, there is now the option of dynamic buttons for a more diverse experience.
Change iPad volume buttons to match the orientation
- Open the Settings app on the iPad (running iPadOS 15.4 RC, with the official release coming next week).
- Select Sounds in the left sidebar
- At the bottom, you can toggle off the fixed-position volume control
- Volume up (+) will now remain on the right or top, whichever orientation when holding the iPad in landscape or portrait orientation.
- And volume down (-) will remain on the left or bottom, whether in landscape or portrait.
Note that the iPad mini 6 has a different setup than other iPads, with the volume buttons on the same side as the top power button. Most iPads have the volume buttons on the opposite side of the top button.
iPad mini 6
iPad Air 5
iPad Pro 2021
