Android 16 could finally let you remap keyboard shortcuts
Google's working to let you reassign the key combinations that perform Android system actions.
- Google is working on a new Android feature that will let you customize keyboard shortcuts.
- This option isn’t live yet, but we spotted code for it in Android 16 preview builds.
- It’s not clear how extensively you’ll be able to customize keyboard shortcuts, but seeing as Android doesn’t offer any sort of keyboard shortcut customization, it has to be better than the status quo.
While some people are skeptical of Google’s plans to turn Chrome OS into Android to compete with the iPad, I’m personally really excited because of what it means for the future of Android. Under this effort, Google is working to make Android a viable desktop operating system, similar to Chrome OS. That requires them to improve how Android handles input accessories, such as physical keyboards. Google is now planning to allow customization of keyboard shortcuts in Android 16.
Android has an extensive set of keyboard shortcuts that let you navigate the UI, open the app drawer, take a screenshot, and perform many other actions. These shortcuts are listed in Android’s keyboard shortcut menu, which is due to be redesigned for large screen devices in the next quarterly release of Android 15.
