Knowledge base

Apple Keyboard (2011): New key placement and functionality

Posted in Apple Mac OS

Summary

The aluminum Apple Keyboard (2011) has several new features. One of the most noticeable changes is the newly-labeled keys for use with OS X Lion features, such as Launchpad and Mission Control.

Products Affected

Keyboards, OS X Lion

These keyboards are designed for and work best with OS X Lion. The function keys are:

  • F7 - Previous track
  • F8 - Play/Pause
  • F9 - Next track
  • F10 - Mute
  • F11 - Volume down
  • F12 - Volume up

Brightness controls are F1 and F2 respectively.

For OS X Lion, the F3 key activates Mission Control. The F4 key activates Launchpad.

For Mac OS