Reflecting on the complexity of modern technology, Apple’s Craig Federighi described the current era as “an age of wonder.”
Commenting on the gap between the simplicity of features and the time required to develop them, the senior vice president was probably alluding to iPadOS 18which could set the stage for the introduction of another of these “age of wonder” features he talks about.
The addition in question could concern theCalculator appconsidering that, despite its apparent simplicity, it has never been spotted on Apple tablets, arousing curiosity and discussions, especially considering that it was one of the first apps available for iPhone.
While other original apps, such as Stocks, Clock, Voice Memos and Weather, have made their appearance over the years, the Calculator has remained surprisingly absent, until now.
Let’s do the math
The iPad has proven that it can handle numbers with its search function Spotlight, which already provides immediate answers to basic calculations and conversions.
It therefore remains a mystery as to why Apple chose not to include a Calculator app, despite this application having been present on every iPhone since 2007 and on every Mac since 1984.
iPad users have always been forced to resort to third party solutions or using your web browser to perform mathematical operations: numerous calculator apps, such as PCalc, Numerical² and Calcbot, have filled the gap, offering free or paid alternatives.
However, many of these do not offer an optimal experience, often characterized by annoying advertisements or poor integration with the iPadOS interface.
More than the sum of its parts
It would seem that the new upcoming Calculator app could deliver more than just a port of the current versions for iOS and macOS.
Apple is reportedly planning to introduce a revised version that will include a history to view past calculations and resizable windows.
This isn’t the only rumor circulating about the Cupertino Calculator.
Recently, a report from AppleInsider suggested that the Calculator app for macOS may be getting a bit of a makeover.
Considering that many of Apple’s apps for iPad and macOS already share a lot of code, such as Stocks, Voice Memos, News, Home, Weather, and Clock, it’s likely that this new redesigned Mac app and the iPad version will share the same software.
Finally, looking at the previous delay in the introduction of the Weather app, dated 2022, it doesn’t seem all that surprising that Apple waited until now to launch its Calculator app on the iPad.
