The new Calculator app in iPadOS 18 is, at first glance, largely unimpressive. When I installed the new operating system, which is now in public beta, I tapped the Calculator icon expecting something particularly tablet-focused and powerful. What I got was, well, the iPhone’s Calculator app, only slightly larger. It’s a nice addition to the iPad, sure, but there’s nothing here that took 14 years to create.
The Calculator app doesn’t really matter, I think you’ll almost never use it. What’s really cool and innovative about iPadOS 18 and iOS 18 is that there’s a calculator built into the operating system itself. Tap the text box in Messages and type “225/4=” and it will automatically tell you that your friend owes you $56.25. You can type your equation into the body of an email, then tap to replace it with the final response. So far, this works in pretty much any text box, but only in Apple’s built-in apps; I think we’ll see it everywhere as apps get updated. It’s the kind of feature that immediately becomes second nature.
But on the iPad, it’s Math Notes that really shines. Instead of forcing you to work within the confines of calculator buttons, Math Notes lets you do your math however you want. You can create a math note from the Calculator app, but the easiest strategy is to just open the Notes app and start drawing. Write “56 + 48 + 35 * 4 / 6 = ” and, a second or two after writing the equal sign, the answer appears (127.33, in case you were wondering). Write a bunch of numbers in a column, draw a horizontal line underneath, and Notes will automatically add them up for you. Change one number and it changes the total.
You can do some incredibly weird things in Math Notes, including solving equations and generating graphs. Its ability to work with variables is the most impressive thing I’ve seen: if you write your equation and then change one variable, it will rewrite all your answers and recreate all your graphs in real time. A lot of the more complex stuff is great for students and physicists and maybe not for many others, but it’s a ton of fun to play with. Oh, and be warned: like any AI system, it won’t always be correct. YouTube is already lots of funny examples math notes that make mistakes.
Even at its best, Math Notes is extremely demanding. It requires you to write neatly and neatly, to begin with, which was a challenge for my terrible handwriting. If the iPad doesn’t recognize a number or letter in an equation, it adds a dotted red border to the unknown part and essentially asks you to try again. (I had pretty good luck with number recognition, for what it’s worth, and much worse with letters and other symbols.) You’ll also get the red border if the iPad can’t figure out the equation you’re trying to solve or if there’s something wrong with your syntax. It doesn’t try to solve your problems or even tell you what they are—it’s like the check engine light on your car, just telling you that something’s wrong.
Even at its best, Math Notes is extremely demanding.
In my testing, Apple still has a lot of beta-like quirks to iron out. If you write an equation that takes up most of the screen, the solution will sometimes appear on top of the equation or spill over the edge of the screen where you can’t see it. Another iPadOS feature tries to match your handwriting (and use AI to improve it slightly as you write), but what it writes looks nothing like what I write. The app also gets easily tripped up by other elements in your notes: I can write a list of numbers, and it works fine, but as soon as I write “food” next to one of those numbers and “beer” next to another, it gets confused.
There are a few obvious and simple things it can’t do. You can’t use one of the generated solutions in another equation. If you try to divide that answer by six, for example, it doesn’t recognize what you’re trying to do at all. Math Notes’ answers aren’t actually part of your note. They’re more like a top layer that you can’t touch or interact with. It’s weird.
So far, I’ve preferred to use Math Notes via the iPad’s Quick Notes feature. I pick up the Pencil, swipe up from the bottom left corner of my iPad, and a little note appears above whatever I’m doing. I write down what I’m trying to solve, grab the answer, and I’m done. I’m neither a student nor an engineer, the two demographics Apple seems to have most in mind, and as Math Notes improves, I think a lot of people will appreciate the ability to write notes that update and move in real time. For the rest of us, it’s the best way yet to figure out the approximate cost of a weekend or figure out who owes what after everything’s done.
I still don’t know why it took Apple so long to bring a calculator app to the iPad, but credit where credit is due: the company found a unique way to implement it that’s both touch and tablet friendly. I just hope your handwriting is better than mine.