iCalc Calculator & Math Solver

What is iCalc Calculator and Math Solver app?

iCalc is a great-looking and flexible calculator with lots of options to customise it to your requirements and tastes. It has dedicated layouts to serve as a basic, scientific, graphing or financial calculator. It also has dedicated mini-calculators to simplify tasks such as reducing fractions.

A ChatGPT Math Bot screen built into the app can assist you with calculations, references, and further learning.

iCalc works well across the range of Apple devices, reflowing and adapting its content from the small screen of an Apple watch up to iPhones and iPads. There are many customisation options to make the app suit your preferences. These include colour themes, haptics, sounds, and keyboard size.

While you can use this iCalc for free while displaying ads, we have based this review on the subscription-based ad-free version.

What we love about iCalc app.

Unlike a hardware calendar, those using screens don't need to be locked to a fixed format, although many are. We liked that iCal lets you choose between a basic, scientific, and financial calculator depending on your needs. It also has pleasantly designed themes which give users a choice of aesthetics. These can make it easier on the eye, suit different times of the day, or just appeal to each user's tastes.

Your calculations remain on screen, making tracking back through your working out much easier than with the limited screen of a physical calculator. Using past answers is also easy as a long press on them opens up options to copy or store the result.  

The convenience tools in the app are nice to have. The simple fraction calculators make working with fractions much more straightforward, which parents of elementary and primary children might find useful to help with homework or mark worksheets.

As part of our app reviews, we provide developers with a chance to respond, and in this case, the response was to act on our suggestions, so we've been able to remove some suggestions for improvement. This kind of responsiveness is a strong plus for a subscription app and should reassure users of the app's active development process and attention to detail.

Many apps have started to add AI chatbot functionality to their options, but we found the inclusion by iCalc to be more beneficial than we expected. It made it easy to check understanding or look things up without the disconnect of leaving the app. It was also interesting to look up interesting math facts prompted by the work.

This can encourage procrastination, but it is an educational diversion when it links to ideas prompted by the work.

Douglas Adams fans will enjoy the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference in the constants section.

What skills does it teach?

Calculators are a tool rather than a teaching aid, although using them helps learners as they develop their math skills, particularly to a higher level. A poorly designed calculator would make learning and practising more onerous, while an excellent app like iCalc reduces friction. There is a handy reference section within iCalc, and the ChatGPT-powered Math Bot can provide additional guidance and support for learners.

What age is it appropriate for?

Only the chatbot functionality of this app could make it inappropriate for young kids. However, calculators with the functionality of iCalc, aren't often needed by young kids. iCalc is best for learners working on math at high or secondary school levels and above.

Is iCalc app easy to use?

Using iCalc's calculating functions, graphing capability, and other dedicated tools was easy. The large and clear buttons allow high accuracy and speed when working on complex problems. The options to check memory slots and look up functions take some cognitive load away from the user, allowing them to concentrate on the problem.

How will students benefit?

iCalc's Math Bot has the potential to act as an always-available tutor to kids. It can remind them of processes and confirm their answers. It can even answer their questions about associated areas of math, such as its history and application.

Kids are less likely to forget their calculator for school when it is on their phone, although their school will need a phone policy that permits this.

Kids are more likely to work with calculator apps than they are physical calculators in their future careers. Teaching kids to use these tools helps to prepare them for the future.

How will parents benefit?

iCalc is compatible with family sharing, which is cost-effective for parents who only occasionally need a calculator app beyond their device's basic built-in one. This will also apply if there is more than one math student in the family.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers know kids like to change settings on all their apps and tools, so we were glad to see an option to restore the app's default settings.

Even if schools do not permit using phones in lessons, the built-in Math Bot makes this app a valuable supporting tool for kids as they complete math homework.

iCalc's clear display and elegant look make it an excellent app to share with a class display while teaching. Graphing functions are particularly good with this app, as you can overlay up to 9 functions and choose the colours to display them. This should allow for excellent front-of-class tuition.

How much does iCalc app cost?

You can use iCalc for free as an ad-supported app or pay for a subscription to remove the ads and fully unlock the app's features. We recommend removing the distractions of the ads by using the premium app.

Is iCalc app safe to use?

iCalc asks for permission to track your activity across other companies and websites. This can be a feature used to help developers monitor their marketing, or it can be used for advertising. You can deny this permission with no detriment to the app's use.

The app has a privacy policy held externally but linked from within.

The app's ChatGPT functionality could produce content unsuitable for young kids, and we suggest that the app's maturity rating should be higher than the 4+ currently shown on its store pages because of this.

What can iCalc app improve on?

There is a slight difference in how this app moves between screens compared to others. Often apps have a back button to leave an options screen, but in the case of iCalc, it is a downward swipe. This took a little getting used to but will depend on how much 'muscle memory' you've built from other apps. It could help to have the option to choose the navigation.

Many people like to use a different theme based on the lighting conditions of their room. The app has many attractive colour-palette alternatives, and we'd like an easy way to flick between two for daytime and evening use.

The suggestions made here are all ideas that would be nice to have, but without them, the app remains excellent, and you should not read them as criticisms.

Overall rating of the app.

iCalc is a superb calculator app.

You know whether you or your kids need a calculator with this app's advanced scientific or graphing capabilities. Your decision will be which one to get. During this review of iCalc, the app worked perfectly. It was straightforward, visually pleasing, and its Math Bot feature was surprisingly helpful.

iCalc app has a generous trial period, and we recommend you give this a try and see how it fits in with your kids' math lessons or studies. iCalc is a five-star calculator app.