Hardware mute device - is this possible?

[elasticmedia]

We often use the 12.9" iPad Pro first generation as a screen to watch the news in the kitchen. When the commercials come, I mute the sound by holding down the down volume. It would be great if I had a mute button that I would just have to press. Too bad there isn't a mute press button on the iPad, but if there were an external device with a mute button that would be great.

 

[arw]

Not an external hardware solution but what you can do:
Create a barely visible, overlayed software button that can be freely placed around the edges and can be tapped to mute/unmute sound.

• A mute/unmute workflow (with restoring the previous volume) can be created with Shortcuts and even triggered by a Siri command (it can also be displayed as a widget or Home Screen icon).
• Activate and place the 'AssistiveTouch' button on an edge. A simple tap on it can mute/unmute the sound by assigning said workflow.
• Configure 'Triple-Tap-the-Power-Button' to hide/show the 'AssistiveTouch' button if its presence is not desired.

1) Activate, then assign 'AssistiveTouch' button to workflow:
Settings > Accessibility > Tap > AssistiveTouch > Single Tap > 'your workflow'
and Opacity > 15 %
2) Assign 'Triple-Tap' to show/hide the 'AssistiveTouch' button:
Settings > Accessibility > Shortcut > AssistiveTouch

I can create the workflow if you’re interested.

EDIT: One if the bazillion bugs of iOS/iPadOS 16 prevents the 'AssistiveTouch' button from showing reliably in landscape mode (at least on my iPad 6th gen). Turning the iPad to portrait mode and back makes the button appear… 🙃

 

[Slartibart]

creating a shortcut with Apple’s Shortcuts like:

, naming it „Silence the News” (and a second shortcut „Pump it Up” which sets the normal volume) and executing this via Siri is not an option?


nota bene: other naming possibilities ARE available. 😁