For the handful among us who have an iPad tablet from Apple, some may have figured out by now that it lacks a feature that has come standard on any operating system since roughly the early 90s: a calculator application. Its absence on the iPad’s iPadOS is strange since the iPhones (iOS) have always had a calculator application built into the system. Even Apple’s laptop and desktop systems (MacOS/OS X/MacOS) include a calculator. As [Greg] at [Apple Explained] explains in a 2021 video, this seems to have been initially due to Steve Jobs, who didn’t like the scaled-up iOS calculator that the person in charge of iPad software development – [Scott Forstal] – was working on and set an ultimatum to replace or drop it.
In the video, [Greg] shows sections of an interview with Apple software chief [Craig Federighi], who when confronted with the question of why iPadOS doesn’t have a calculator or weather app, quickly slithers out of the way of the incoming question. He excuses the absence with the idea that Apple won’t do anything unless it makes people go ‘wow’ when they use it. Fast-forward two years, and iPadOS 17 still doesn’t have a version of the Apple Calculator app, making for rich meme fodder. One question that gets raised by some is whether Apple really needs to make such an app at all since you can use Spotlight and Siri to get calculations resolved, in the latter case, using the apparently hidden Calculator app.
These days, you can use Google Search as a calculator, too, with it even throwing up a calculator UI when you ask it to perform a calculation, and the App Store is full of various calculator apps, with or without advertising and/or paid features. In this context, what could Apple do with a calculator that would positively ‘wow’ its users?
Why ?
Because Apple.
My favorite calc app is Plus42 since I like RPN.
There is also the pure HP42 simulator version: Free42.
Free42 is great but I did pony up the few bucks for 15C SciCalc too
I grew up with an HP48G which uses RPM. So I ignore the calc app on my Android devices and install the emulator app. Not sure if that is available on iOS or not. It’s not like it’s a copyright issue as HP has given their blessing. I don’t know if they are still enforcing Steve Job’s old no-emulator rule though.
RPN, not RPM. It isn’t RedHat, sorry
The MacOS calculator would be great on the iPad – programmer and scientific modes are both really useful to have close at hand.
Indeed, though a touch screen still sucks – which is why I still have my graphic calculator and a more regular scientific calculator on or in my desk in easy reach depending on what I’m doing…
“He excuses the absence with the idea that Apple won’t do anything unless it makes people go ‘wow’ when they use it.”
What an insulting, bullshit excuse. So his thesis is that everything on the iPad is “wow”-inducing? Like Voice Memos, Contacts, and Files?
Issuing gimped products with glaring functionality holes is bad, but insulting customers with embarrassing excuses is just unforgivable.
Nothing tops the removal of the headphone jack from Apple’s best-selling music player with the excuse that this is “courage,” though. Then again, throwing a blatant F-U into your customers’ faces and acting smug about it is a form of “courage” I guess.
I still use my old non programmable texas instruments calculator. I experienced it, that people who use this programmable calculators forgot how to solve a equitation.
Its like handwriting and typing on pc. The cognitiv task behind are not equal.
For bigger task still a matlab fan :-)
“Equitation” was certainly not the word you were trying to use. :P
Hold on your horses, smartphone correction is a thing!
Ohh yeah, especially if you have a migration background and also work in some kind of international office and it is totally natural for you to switched between four languages serveral times a day and google always corrects you. In many parts of this world you must learn more than one language even in your home country and this good, you realize the potential of your brain.
If the calculator added up the cost of kepping up with Apple’s top of the range tech each year when you open it I’m pretty sure most users would go “WOW”.
One doesn’t need to buy something new every year, or even every 4 (which is my usual interval). And when I upgrade, I pass my hand-me-down to someone who isn’t as much of geek as I am, and they pass the last hand-me-down to someone else. I find my Macs have an excellent return on investment, *if* they are spec’ed decently to begin with. So the mid-range MacBook Pro, with a terabyte SSD, provides 8-10 years of service, and the trackpad is actually useful, unlike the unpleasant Windows laptops my employer foists on me with trackpads that are unusable because the mouse jumps when you click a button, power supplies that don’t match between the laptop and the (expensive extra cost) dock (that the MBP doesn’t need), and video drivers that make the IT dept have to reimage when it locks up the screen.
Woah, sorry about the rant. I’m pretty sure it is possible to *make* a Windows laptop that isn’t annoying as hell, but I have never been assigned one. If you find Windows works for you, go ahed and use it. I find the Mac works for me, and my second choice would be Linux, because that also works for me (though the lower end laptop I ran it on did have an annoying trackpad, but not as bad as my work laptop).
I do get tired of people bitching about the price of Apple products without ever considering the actual return on investment for a *well-considered* purchase. Any time you chase the latest shiny at the lowest cost, you will get burned. Upgrading every year for the latest shiny is wasteful of money and resources, IMHO, no matter who makes your tech.
My reason for not liking apple products is the closed ecosystem in which they operate. As in, apple decides what can and what cannot run on it’s products. windows is overbloated spyware. I prefer linux. Like you, my laptop has a trackpad. I promptly disabled that and added a standalone numeric keypad (since it was lacking that, too) and a trackball mouse.
As for upgrading every year… that isn’t specifically an apple thing. As far as cellphones go, that’s both systems. Programs are continuously (updated) – for no real reason at all – and every year or two, the programs will stop working with the older versions of the OS, requiring you to either “upgrade” or not use the apps. This doesn’t affect local programs so much – databases and such – but anything that relies on network connectivity – walmart, woot, amazon… – if you aren’t using the latest and “greatest” software, you can use their services…
There is no such thing as an “Apple ecosystem” that is a closed ecosystem… you’re thinking of the iOS ecosystem. If you have a Mac you can run whatever you want on it… it’s quite comparable to Linux, IMO.
I also feel that the iOS/iPhone/iPad ecosystem has generally benefited up to this point by its being quite restricted and curated… the platform has been incredibly stable. But I wonder if it’s time to open it up. I mean, an iPad is a computer these days. It runs an M1/M2 chip. Why can’t I run Parallels on it?
I actually suspect that time is coming, though.
Android is far worse when it comes to fragmentation and orphaned devices. The great “open-source” OS was that was supposed to free us all from vendor and telco tyranny has spectacularly failed to do so… and perhaps made it worse.
Apple products are Veblen goods.
‘They’ like to spend too much money on them. Like some moron’s sneakers.
Are you not in awe of the newest Apple watch? Pesant.
There’s no calculator the same way as Apple calling an iPad a laptop computer replacement…it isn’t. The iPad is designed as an advertisement delivery device. Why were many/most websites broken and unusable on early iPads? Because Apple wanted to force users into “there’s an app for that” mantra. After all, why view a web page with limited user tracking when you can force users into downloading “an app” that lets software vendors steal your contacts lists, photos, apps lists, phone logs, battery usage, home network info, bluetooth devices,…instead of a single IP data point you now get a dossier on users which is more valuable to sell.
Cynical “everyone’s out to get me” aside apps are going to be more functional than web pages. Plus Apple isn’t Google. They don’t need to “sell” to anyone else. Internally it’s informative.
Ya, because companies, like Apple, aren’t just in it for the money. Sheep gonna keep sheep’n.
No billionaire or company “needs” more money. But have you ever seen one that doesn’t grab all they can get?
People often seem to forget about how the executives of any publicly traded company have a fiduciary duty to shareholders, meaning it’s *literally illegal* for them to be seen as acting in any way that doesn’t directly seek maximum profit at any given moment…
It’s deeply laughable to suggest a company would ever simply choose to act out of the goodness of its nonexistent heart because it “has enough money” — like don’t get me wrong that would sure be nice, but there’s just this little thing called capitalism in which we operate under the shared delusion that private growth is more desirable than public benefit…
And they still have to make money to pay their employees to make newer products or they will eventually shut down and we will be stuck with what’s left.
It’s not *literally illegal* for executives to seek long term profits and stable productivity instead of supporting short term gambling on stocks. It’s only illegal for them to intentionally damage the value of the shares, because that can be used for inside deals like hostile takeovers or shorting the stock when you know it’s going to fall.
Dude: You cannot reason someone out of a religious position.
Commies are just religiously repeating derp. AWB doesn’t care that what he types isn’t true. It’s his truth.
Most “apps” are web pages in a wrapper. I forget the name of the tool that was/is used to pack up websites into “local apps” under Android.
Apple sells user data to Google: https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/apple-just-traded-your-privacy-for-15-billion.html
That’s a hilarious retcon. Websites were broken for the same reason websites break in all new rendering engines. The same thing happened with koncor, gecko, and partially even chrome (they weren’t fighting standards, they were fighting IE)
The evidence of this is the fact mobile safari rendered sites broken long before apps and the app store even existed. You’re literally claiming the app store came about and time traveled back two years into the past.
As for apps stealing data, you’re confusing android with ios, as data is stored along with an app and none of them could talk to each other. The APIs for one app to get data of another came even longer after the app store did. This wasn’t intentional for security, this was the lacking of any means to actually do it.
“Why were many/most websites broken and unusable on early iPads?”
That is utter BS. Not to mention that the original iPad predated the serious attempt to push people off normal Web browsers and onto “apps” that were simply skinned browsers for one site.
An eternal homage to the hobbled utility of the one button mouse.
My reaction is “Wow!! No calculator?” I use the one on my Surface Pro all the time.
Right? “Wow! Your developers are clueless!” Pushing that wow factor, indeed.
There are plenty of free calculators you can choose from on the AppStore. Take your pick. Some people prefer RPN. Some people want a graphic scientific calculator. Some people want other features. Take your pick.
PCalc is great as a calculator but (hate to say it) Jobs was right: Apple should have taken the opportunity to reimagine the idea of “calculator” for the big screen (consider the Soulver app on the Mac). 3D graphing, not-quite Mathematica-level advanced maths, and so on. Perhaps a new AI system to help you explore math problems, help you understand the cost of your mortgage so it doesn’t just calculate, but helps you ask for the right calculation.
But I doubt they’ll be “brave” enough. Even the Mac graphing calculator was written _ despite_ management, not with its support.
I like PCalc a lot, have it set to RPN mode. I also installed Python on my iPad, so technically, that provides me a reimagined calculator ;-)
Apple only has the “courage” to take away useful and near-essential functionality, while adding shit that nobody wants and doesn’t work… like “Center Stage.” WTF, what defective bullshit that is, which they ram down users’ throats by enabling by default.
I’m guessing the ghost of Jobs still strikes fear into the Apple lemmings
My ipad has a calculator
I would guess that approximately 100% of people with an iPad also have a smartphone, most likely an iPhone. But all smart phones have a calculator. So exactly zero need for iPad calculator. Zero.
Okay, but my smartphone is often across the room while my iPad is right in front of me.
Oh the indignity is walking across a room for something you need.
Please.
Is this irony or is there a better term for your lack of self awareness? Simping for Apple over the lack of a calculator app while acting foolish towards someone else… Yikes.
Why stop there? You don’t need that silicon just tabulate 1s and 0s with a pencil and paper unless you’re some kinda schmuck who thinks Steve Apple could have *gasp* made an error in never delivering a completely standard feature because the æsthetics® weren’t right
Open Spotlight. Type in your calculation. Read the answer.
So, zero need for an iPad. Got it.
Then there’s zero need for an iPad.
Zero need for a iPad calculator, unless your iPad *IS* your smartphone!
As [Greg] at [Apple Explained] explains in a 2021 video, this seems to have originally been due to Steve Jobs, who didn’t like the scaled-up iOS calculator that the person in charge of iPad software development – [Scott Forstal] – and set an ultimatum to replace or drop it.
This is not a complete sentence – it seems to lack a verb. It also doesn’t convey a coherent thought.
Apple being Apple. They can’t admit it when they are doing something wrong.
There are plenty of free 3rd party Calculator apps on the App Store so this bickering is much to do about absolutely nothing.
3rd party apps are not a substitution for lacking basic features. First and foremost there’s a security and trust issue… But you can use this low thought argument to negate the need for any first party apps.
I had to download half a dozen of those third party calculator apps before I found one that didn’t try to charge me a MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FEE
Plenty of calculator apps, just not a first party app.
🤷♂️
The apple calculators are crap. Ugly and lacking functionality. Worse: it makes serious mathematical errors.
Source for this?
Please don’t use Google or Siri to do calculations. I have a friend who is a computer researcher who says that the amount of energy required to access cloud algorithms for a simple calculation could power a household lightbulb for 3 hours vs. the tiny bit required to do it in device.
Is that a 100W incandescent bulb, 20W CFL or 10W LED bulb?
Hang on, I’ll just ask Google quickly…
An average search uses 0.3Wh, google states. Maybe he uses some 0.1W bulbs from north korea.
Could be worse. Windows 10 doubled down on Steve Jobs dislike, made an ugly tablet calculator and ported it back to the desktop os, yikes.
Eh. It works. It’s a shortcut on my desk I use daily.
Not everything has to be styled by Pininfarina.
A lot of time ‘just plain works’ is just plain fine.
>> … whether Apple really needs to make such an app at all, since you can use Spotlight and Siri to get calculations resolved
This is my old guy gripe talking, but I’m always irritated that we’re now at the point that to do almost anything needs internet access.
I’m not even a Luddite. I would just like to have the near-supercomputer device I paid $1000 for be able to add two numbers when I’m in that weird corner of my garage that has no reception.
Especially since it’s neither hard nor expensive. Apple already had a perfectly serviceable calculator coded for their iPhones, all they had to do was port the damned thing.
But nooooo. It wasn’t “cool” and “wow” enough to just have a basic tool that worked. Instead I have to find that one spot with good coverage so I can ask a voice assistant to ping a server in Cupertino to figure out how many squares of sod to buy.
“be able to add two numbers when I’m in that weird corner of my garage that has no reception.”
Bravo!
Apple products are for dumb people. Like who does math anyhow? Uses a calculator? Gnarly!
Opportunities to Apple bash always get plenty of comments, despite computer science departments and researchers and code-heavy places like Google are nearly 100% MacBook Air. “For the handful among us who have an iPad tablet from Apple” implies there are less than a handful of pilots reading HaD. The number of iPhones and iPads used as avionics displays or extra GPS navigation is striking. Some just use GPS data and some connect to an avionics and engine control system to give full glass-panel displays in both new and old planes.
But I will say that I have an iPad and despite various plans to use it in projects, in truth I just read books and data sheets and occasionally with a drone if my phone image is too small. The main drawback is the awkwardness of working on it even with a BT mouse and KB. If it presented an alternative OSX desktop it would be much more convenient.
LOL!
Does an iPad have a file system yet? Can’t even save a PDF, to read on the airplane or in the boonies. It’s gotta go to the cloud. I’ve never seen such a crippled computing device forcing users to use the dumb way: You email the PDF to yourself and then can open that cached email to read it. Sad.
It doesn’t. When I was in school and required to use one (department bought them for us and instead of buying paper books bought us digital versions for iPad) I bought some third party app that worked well as a file system.
Recently I bought a refurb Thinkpad with touch screen for 1/4 the price of an iPad
But
iPad and apple in general are like Coors Light. Everyone makes fun of it and calls it garbage yet it still has a HUGE market share.
Today I learned the “Files” app doesn’t exist. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102570
Strange. Mine has a folder I can drop PDF’s in ,etc. Just like ebooks and all that. I don’t use Apple’s could stuff for anything.
If you open a pdf with the books app it saves a copy, which is what I always do.. Now my problem is i want to move one of my pdfs to my computer, which seems only possible by using somewhat shady apps on the computer to extract it…
No Airdrop?
It would make sense for them to add a calculator now since they added that ‘slide over’ feature. That’d make the calculator always just one swipe from the right away. And it would be screenspace efficient as well!
Whatever that refers to…
At this point the only thing about a native iPad calculator that would make people go wow, would be if Apple did it at all
This shows exactly why a lot of software products from apple are bad. Apple mindset is be different or wow users. But at a price of hurting the users with bad UX. As former developer and UX designer and owner of a software company which develops web and mobile apps I’v seen this countless of times, especially on iphone and ipad is basically worse version of that. Writing down the numbers on letter keybord in for example chrome, not having history of results etc. is absolutely horrible UX. This mindest had a place 15 years ago when Jobs was alive, times were different and Apple was mainly HW company. But it just doesn’t work in todays world.
Because they have a monopoly on what goes in their pre-installed OS. And EU legislators were not good enough to impose OS choice in the DSA/DMA legislations, only side loading apps via alternative app stores.