With iPadOS 18, Apple wants to reconcile users with math. Or, at least, allow them to do their calculations, equations and other operations with the tip of the Pencil.
During WWDC, Apple presented many features coming to iPhone, iPad and Mac around mathematics. No more headaches with additions, area or function calculations, the in-house algorithm does everything for you.
Perhaps we will no longer have good mathematicians any time soon. At least, among users of the latest iPads. It’s a bit of a joke that we made while watching the Apple conference during WWDC at the beginning of June at Apple Park. During the keynote, Craig Federighi and others revealed countless new features regarding calculations.
The arrival of the calculator at last
There was obviously the arrival of the calculator on the iPad which thrilled the developers present at Apple Park. It will have been a long time coming, but it has arrived reinforced, and in its wake, the iPhone version is undergoing the same facelift. Because this time, Apple has pulled out all the stops.
Bad news for all the third-party applications which had made their success – and their fortune thanks to advertisements – on iPad by taking advantage of the absence of an in-house application. Not only will the calculator do simple calculations, but it automatically comes in a scientific calculator version for all needs (in landscape and portrait versions).
It is notably enriched with a sub-menu including a version for answering equations and plotting functions, but above all the possibility of writing all your calculations with the Apple Pencil (all generations) and of viewing the iPad automatically do the calculations. Here is Math Notes (mathematical notes in French) which will delight students. Less math teachers.
This is actually a toggle in the Notes app. You write your calculation and as soon as you draw the “=” sign, iPadOS understands that it needs to solve this for you. If you change any number in the calculation, iPad immediately recalculates for you. This is particularly effective for calculating measurements on a sketch with the surface at the center, equations to solve or ready-made formulas. And by keeping the stylus pressed above the value, a slider appears to slide the selected number to the right or left.
Easy calculation, even on iPhone
Everything then changes in real time. The graphs and other functions resulting from calculations and equations thus evolve according to user modifications. Calculate from a diagram the speed of one object in relation to another, the curve of a ball in relation to a strike, etc… All this is much better visualized with the data variator.
You can also access your calculations directly from Notes, without using the calculator. A “Mathematical Notes” file will be automatically created. And the most surprising thing about this new way of doing math is also the addition of the Smart Script function which learns to “imitate” your writing. This will be useful for handwritten notes, but also for mathematics. The answer appears in your own writing.
The iPhone and the Mac are not forgotten. With iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, they will also benefit from solving formulas and equations entered while typing in the Notes application.
Math Notes will be available at the start of the school year or during the public beta in July for all iPads with at least an M1 chip and updated to iPadOS 18, Macs running macOS Sequoia as well as iPhones compatible with iOS 18 .
