Testing math notes and the Calculator app on iPadOS 18

The new Calculator app in iPadOS 18 is, at first glance, completely unimpressive. When I installed the new operating system, which is now in public beta, I tapped the Calculator icon expecting something that felt powerful and uniquely tablet-focused. I have, well, the Calculator app on the iPhone – just a little bigger. It’s a nice addition to the iPad, sure, but there’s nothing here that took 14 years to make.

The Calculator app doesn’t really matter. I suspect you will be unlikely to use it. What’s really extremely cool and innovative about iPadOS 18 and iOS 18 is that there’s a calculator built right 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 in the body of an email and tap to replace it with just the final answer. So far, this works in basically any text box, but only in Apple’s built-in apps; I suspect we’ll see this everywhere as apps update. It’s the kind of feature that immediately becomes second nature.

But on the iPad, at least, it’s Math Notes that really shines. Instead of forcing you to work within the confines of calculator buttons, Math Notes lets you do arithmetic however you want. You can create a math note in the Calculator app, but the easiest strategy is to open the Notes app and start drawing. Write “56 + 48 + 35 * 4/6 =” and a second or two after writing the equals sign, the answer will appear (127.33, in case you were wondering). Write a bunch of numbers in a column, draw a horizontal line below, and Notes will automatically summarize them for you. Change one number and it will change the total.

You can do impressively complicated things in Math Notes, including solving equations and generating graphs. Its ability to work with variables is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen: if you write your equation and then change one variable, it will rewrite all your answers and redo all your graphs in real time. Many of the more complex things are great for students and physicists and maybe not for many others, but they are extremely fun to play with. Oh, and fair warning: like any AI system, it won’t be right all the time. YouTube is already full of fun examples of Mathematical Notes making mistakes.

Even at its best, Math Notes is extremely demanding. For starters, it requires you to write neatly and carefully, which has been a challenge with my terrible handwriting. If the iPad doesn’t recognize a number or letter in an equation, it will add a dotted red border to the unknown bit and basically ask you to try again. (I’ve had great luck with number recognition, for what it’s worth, and a much worse experience 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 it’s missing. something in your syntax. It doesn’t try to solve your problems or even tell you what they are – it’s like the Check Engine light in your car, just telling you that something is wrong.

In my testing so far, there are also plenty of beta-type quirks left for Apple to iron out. If you write an equation that takes up most of the screen, the solution will sometimes appear at the top of the equation or spread to the edge of the screen where you can no longer see it. Another iPadOS feature tries to match your handwriting — and use AI to slightly improve it as you write — but what it writes looks nothing like what I write. The app is also easily bogged down by other things 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 confusing.

There are some simple and obvious things he can’t do. You can’t use one of the solutions generated in another equation – if you try to, say, divide that answer by six, it won’t recognize what you’re trying to do. Mathematical Notes answers are not part of your grade. They’re more like a top layer that you can’t touch or interact with. Is weird.

So far, my favorite use of Math Notes has been the iPad’s Quick Notes feature. I take the pencil, swipe from the bottom left corner of my iPad, and a little note appears above what I’m doing. I write down everything I’m trying to solve, get the answer and that’s it. Now, I’m neither a student nor an engineer, the two demographics Apple seems to have most in mind, and as Math Notes improves, I suspect many 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 to calculate the approximate cost of a weekend away or figure out who owes what when it’s all over.

I still don’t know why it took Apple so long to get a calculator app on the iPad, but credit is due: the company found a touch- and tablet-unique way to implement it. I just hope your handwriting is better than mine.