Linux 6.1 Brings Input Drivers For IBM Operation Panel & PINE64 Keyboard Case

Following the recent HID driver updates for Linux 6.1, the other input subsystem driver updates for this new kernel version have been submitted. The input driver updates this cycle range from supporting the optional PinePhone keyboard to a driver enabling the IBM Operation Panel used by some IBM servers.

IBM engineers contributed the new IBM Operational panel driver "ibm-panel" for Linux 6.1. This is an I2C-connected panel found on some of their servers that interfaces with the BMC / system service processor. The IBM Operation Panel has a few buttons and an LCD display for interacting with by server administrators. The new ibm-panel driver gets those buttons working so that the events can be used under Linux.

PINE64 Keyboard Case

The other notable new input driver with Linux 6.1 is the PinePhone keyboard driver. This driver is for supporting the keypad and MCU of the PinePhone (Pro) keyboard case. The PinePhone keyboard runs a fully open-source firmware and this keyboard case is an optional ~$50 accessory for this open-source Linux smartphone.

Meanwhile the existing XPad input driver has added support for more controllers and getting the Xbox One Elite paddles working> The newly-added controller support is for several different Wooting models, Hori Fighting Commander One, OneXPlayer, 8BitDo Pro 2, and various others outlined in that linked article.

The Synaptics RMI4 driver meanwhile has improvements to firmware update handling, another ID added to the Elan touchscreen driver, and other improvements/fixes to existing input drivers.

See this Git pull for all the details on the input driver changes for Linux 6.1.