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The Calculator app is finally coming to the iPad.
Samuel Axson
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You can write equations with Apple Pencil and watch them get solved in real time.
Samuel Axson
CUPERTINO, Calif. — After detailing iOS 18, Apple took a moment during its WWDC 2024 keynote to go over some changes.
There are some small UI changes and new features across Apple's first-party apps, including a new floating tab bar that expands into a sidebar when you want to take a closer look, lets you customize the tab bar to include the specific items you most want to interact with, and SharePlay, which makes it easy to screen share or remotely control someone else's iPad.
But the big news is that the Calculator app we've been using on the iPhone has been ported to the iPad, where the iPad has had no first-party calculator app at all for years. The Calculator app on iPad can do a few things that the iPhone version can't do with Apple Pencil. A feature called Math Notes lets you write out equations just like you would on paper, and the app solves them in real time as you write them. Plus, there are all kinds of cool math features that update live. (These new Math Notes features also work in the Notes app.)
While Apple doesn't use the word AI here, this is definitely powered by some form of machine learning. Smart Script, a new handwriting feature, refines and improves your handwriting as you write, tweaking your writing to make it easier to read when you're writing quickly to take notes. It uses machine learning to analyze your handwriting, so these adjustments are meant to match your regular writing. This means you can scribble as quickly and recklessly as you like during a meeting or class, and on the surface, your writing will be legible by the end of the day.
Not everyone uses the Pencil frequently — handwriting has given way to typing for some — but Apple is aggressively marketing these fancy features to those who want that experience.
A release date for iPadOS 18 has yet to be announced, but it will likely arrive in September or October, alongside iOS 18 and possibly new iPhone models announced at that time.
Listing image by Samuel Axson
