Issue 21
Big argument

The big argument: Calculators – phone or physical?

Turns out we did have them in our pockets when we’re older

post

17 March 2025

Physical, argues Elinor Flavell

Ah…, the humble calculator.

The mathematical chic accessory. Whip a calculator out at random intervals, and it will do to you what taking off glasses did to girls in 90s rom-coms.

No phone calculator can compare! Ask yourself: How often do you reach for your calculator? `All the time’ I hear you say. Because:

  • it always has charge,
  • you don’t need to upgrade it every 18 months, and
  • it is very hard to scratch (as my calculator can bear testament to).

Calculators are the one friend that cockroaches will have in the apocalypse.

In comparison, how often do you reach for the calculator on your phone, try to work something out, and then sigh because it is just not easy to get the answers you are looking for? How often do you have to Google how to write $\sin^{-1}x$ on your phone calculator? `All the time’ you say! That sounds rather like a phone calculator isn’t up to the job…

For me it’s a no brainer. The best calculator is the one that never runs out of battery, always works, and makes you look like a nerd. Why use anything else? Stay strong to the calculator.

Phone, argues Sophie Maclean

Firstly, before I put forward my case, I must dispute the phrasing of this argument. Phone calculators vs ‘physical calculators’? Phone calculators are physical calculators. To say otherwise is pure intellectual snobbery. Especially now that phone calculators are often equipped with the functions of scientific calculators.

But semantics aside, a phone calculator is orders of magnitude (which you can work out easily on this little app) better than a handheld calculator. It can do everything a handheld can do, and more. Why would one opt for a device with less functionality, over the one that they carry around anyway?! If I were to start using a handheld calculator, I would still be carrying my phone (and therefore phone calculator) with me anyway.

I am not exaggerating to say that I have not used my handheld calculator since my final A-level exam. Outside of the totalitarian simulation of real life that is the English school system, I am either capable of doing the necessary calculations in my head, already have my phone on me, or am in need of a tool much more powerful than a handheld calculator can give.

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