During WWDC, Apple announced that the Calculator app finally will be included as a native app with iPadOS 18. It will also get a redesign, as the Mac Calculator will now resemble the iPhone app, with round buttons instead of square ones, and will feature new capabilities with Apple Pencil integrations.
The iPad Calculator looks like an expanded iPhone Calculator and features history and quick unit conversions. With Math Notes, the Calculator is elevated with an Apple Pencil, as users can use Apple’s stylus to write equations, and the Calculator will solve them as soon as they write an equal sign (=). The Calculator supports variables and complex calculations. Users can edit equations, and the Calculator will recalculate the result, hover the Apple Pencil over a variant, and scroll left and right to decrease and increase the unit.Â
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This may not sound like a groundbreaking feature, but did you know that the iPad has never included a native Calculator app in its 14-year history? While there are various rumors about why Apple never created an iPad Calculator app, one thing is certain: iPad users will now get the same Calculator experience they’re accustomed to with other Apple devices.
Until now, iPad users looking for a calculator had to download third-party apps from the App Store, most of which were created by developers striving for the same aesthetics as the iPhone’s Calculator app.
A built-in Calculator app eliminates the need to download a third-party app and allows Apple to leverage the iPad’s larger screen to offer complex calculations and advanced visualizations. This feature enables everyday users, like students, to use the iPad more effectively for math and science queries.Â