Do you know, there’s a basic scientific calculator built-in your iPhone, just rotate your iPhone to landscape mode to access it Read: 6 Best Calculator Apps for Android for Different Need
Best Calculator Apps for iPad
1. Siri
Technically Siri is not an app but it does listen to your commands and if you ask it to solve a basic mathematical problem it generally does it with ease. Siri uses the famous Wolfram Alpha engine to identify the equations, solve and present the results in less than 10 seconds (depends on complexity and speed of network connection). What can you do with Siri calculator? Siri has the ability to basic math calculations on its own. You just have to press the home button for more than a second, Siri just pops up and waits for your commands. It can also compute more advanced math problems using Wolfram Alpha engine but that is limited by Siri’s ability to actually recognize your query and compute it. Pros: inbuilt, no additional download required, works with voice Cons: limited to basic calculations, requires internet connectivity, can’t use it in library or classrooms
2. Spotlight: the best-inbuilt calculator for iPad
Siri is good for some basic calculation but you can’t use it everywhere, sometimes you have to be quiet and sometimes there’s too much noise, that’s where Spotlight comes in. Spotlight provides an easy way to find apps and stuff in your iOS devices. And guess what, you can also use Spotlight for some basic and advanced calculations on your iPad. And best of all, it doesn’t require an active internet connection like Siri. Read: 4 Ways to Put Movies on Your iPad What can you do with Spotlight calculator? Swiping down on the home screen brings up the spotlight, you type your math problem and Spotlight computes it instantly and displays the result in the box. You can solve basic mathematical equations and problems like conversion, simple arithmetic, and algebra with Spotlight. It, however, can not compute fractions. Pros: solves math problems efficiently, doesn’t require internet access. Cons: not very intuitive for complex calculations
3. Calculator Plus: the best free calculator for iPad
What does one look for in a calculator app? Ability to solve basic math and hopefully no ads that take up a portion of the screen. Calculator Plus is the answer to all the iPad users’ pleas. It is the most basic calculator app on the Apple Store with the only basic features. It works swift and the UI is clean, thanks to lack of ads. You can do long strings of calculations without losing the track of the order because it displays the sequence on the top which makes it easier to use. Even though it is a great app but it does not have advanced features like log, trigonometry, exponents, and roots. Pros: Light and Clean Cons: only basic calculation is available Download Calculator+(Free)
4. Pcalc lite: the best scientific calculator for iPad
Now we have the basic apps sorted, but what if we need more. Students with advanced algebra probably use calculators more than anyone else and they deserve an app that offers them a calculator which solves their trigonometric functions and logs. Pcalc does is its job and offers advanced functionalities like sine, log, exponents, square, square roots, etc. It has a few constants values which are a plus if you need a reference.
Pcalc Lite is an advanced scientific calculator with most of the features but it is very hard to keep track of the functions used. It would have been much better if it had an option to display all the previous functions used in the calculation for ease and to avoid confusion. This feature is available in the pro version. Pros: works on all iOS devices, even apple watch, supports all sought of calculations – simple to scientific Cons: no option to view previous calculations with long and complex problems. Download Pcalc lite
5. Calcbot: the best scientific calculator with memory feature
Calcbot is Scientific calculator which would come as a life-saver for your all night assignment sessions. The layout of the keys is neatly arranged in different colors like the numbers are white, the basic functions (+,-, x,/) in blue and advanced functions in grey. Calcbot has all the scientific calculator functions present, although you may see it lacking inverse trigonometric functions of sine, cosine, etc. Well, you can press the up arrow on the top left of the keyboard to reveal the functions. Creative use of space and keeping the number of buttons to a minimum while simultaneously increasing the usability of the app. All of your results are saved automatically in the ledger style list and you can tag a result if you’re going to use that in your next calculations. It also makes searching for the specific calculation, later on, if you need to recheck your calculations, you can directly tap the list instead of repeating it all over again. Plus you get unit conversions to feature with which you can convert a few common parameters like area, currency, data size, length, temperature, etc. However, some of the units are locked and can be purchased in the pro version Pros: Saves calculations for later use Cons: Brackets can’t be used easily with advanced functions like sin, cos, tan, etc and requires previous experience with scientific calculators. Download Calcbot
6. MyScript Calculator: best handwriting calculator for iPad
We all can agree despite all the achievements in technology which has brought us away from pen and paper, nothing beats the natural way of writing. Including all the features from the above apps, This app has a very interesting input feature, you use your finger or the Apple Pencil to write down the equations on the screen, it recognizes the shapes and converts them to digital inputs and computes it for you. The result is then displayed and stored for any future references. One little key design feature, when enabled discourages you to use the dot (.) symbol as a multiplication symbol and x is used instead. Dot is kept as a decimal point to avoid confusion. It also displays the result automatically which can be turned off if you have a long equation to solve. Other features include Palm rejection to prevent accidental touches which may be registered by the app, left-handed input which is considerate of developers to think of left-handed people, Apple pencil only option is useful if you prefer writing with a pencil instead of using your fingers. Pros: Intuitive interface, let’s you solve intermediate level calculations. Cons: Wrong interpretation of the character gives incorrect results. Download MyScript Calculator
7. PhotoMath: best photo calculator app
Now we’ve covered writing with a pencil on the app to solve problems but what if your textbook has long equations and you need to practice for the test? PhotoMath is a lifesaver when you wish to solve long equations because it does the hard work by capturing the entire problem through the camera and process the image and look for possible mathematical formulas. It does it efficiently so. We didn’t face any problem with the speed and accuracy of the results. PhotoMath is excellent if you don’t want to manually enter long equations into the app to get the solution. Once you have the app installed, open it and simply point your camera toward a math problem, Photomath will magically show the result in the bottom of the screen. And the best part is, it also gives you detailed step-by-step instructions. Pros: Useful for solving printed problems easily. Cons: Accuracy depends on your handwriting. Download PhotoMath
8. GoodGrapher: best graph calculator app
Graphing calculators are very powerful in calculating long equations and plotting them on the Cartesian plane. Good Grapher is a notebook style calculator where you can solve the equations which are displayed on the notebook page. In this app, you get a couple of plotting options like 2d plotters and 3d plotters. You can solve polynomials up to 3 variables. You can also share the plotted graph with other people or use it for your homework. There’s a scientific calculator on the main screen where you can compute all the functions which are displayed like a notebook. You plot the graph by tapping the options button on the top left and selecting the option of either 2d or 3d graph. It also has an inbuilt MathSolver which lets you solve polynomials, enter the constant values of the corresponding variables and it displays the result. Pros: Advanced features for complicated problem solving and graph plotting Cons: Less space for buttons and normal calculations Download GoodGrapher (Free)
9. Geometry: the best calculator app for calculating geometric figures
Geometry has always been my favorite part of Maths until they introduced complex shapes and figures. It was always confusing to understand where to use which formula to calculate the area and the volume. Geometry Calculator is a specially developed app for this purpose. You can calculate the Area, perimeter, and volume for the geometric shapes listed in the app. It has most shapes like triangle, rectangle, polygons, and circles. It also has 3d shapes like sphere, cube, cylinder, pyramid, etc. To calculate, you need to tap on one of the shapes and it shows all the parameters which you can calculate for the shape. Let’s take a trapezium, for example, you’ll see options to calculate the area, perimeter, diagonal, and internal angles. It not only calculates it with the given inputs but also shows the formula and procedure which makes it easier to understand. Pros: Calculations with step by step method for easy understanding Cons: There is no option to save calculations in this app. Download Geometry
Honorable Mentions
CalcTape Paper Tape Calculator: It is a tape-style calculator which keeps the result on a digital paper. For a look and feel of the tape calculators used in retail stores, this apps takes the spot. Electrical Calculator: This app is very useful if you wish to convert voltage and power and current. It has an option to calculate the resistance of a resistor using color-coded rings. Unit Converter: It is a conversion app that lets you convert mass, velocity, gravity, time, etc.
Which is the Best Calculator App for iPad?
A calculator is a utility tool which should come built-in within the iPad. There are even better options available. We reviewed a few Calculator apps for iPad without ads. Each app has its own audience, it is fair that we suggest our picks. For basic calculations, Calculator Plus is a good choice as it has no unnecessary features to distract or confuse the user. Pcalc Lite would come in handy when you have a ton of homework and don’t have your Scientific Calculator around to solve all those trigonometric functions and logarithmic equations. Myscript Calculator is a very intuitive app that lets you use your iPad as an actual notepad. It is useful for people who like the look and feel of writing their own equations down instead of typing. PhotoMath is for people who would want to solve equations printed on paper by recognizing through camera and image processing. Read: Best YouTube Alternative Apps for iPhone and iPad
