# iPhone Calculator app

6 Hacker News commenters recommended iPhone Calculator app and 12 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free built-in iPhone calculator; people note its history and correct keypresses. Critics cite hidden history, lag on fast taps and wrong results.

## What people warn about

- Shows too little calculation history (2 comments): "the main beef I have with Calculator.app is that on a screen this big, I ought to be able to see several previous calculations" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46851514)) "I want that history visible on the screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46903710))
- Misreads fast or repeated taps (2 comments): "that wouldn't accept the next digit until the last press was done animating" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48542373)) "calculator app showing false results when tapped quickly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48791896))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [SpeedCrunch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/speedcrunch-1-1.md): 13 recommend
- [Qalculate](https://hackerapproved.com/p/qalculate.md): 9 recommend
- [Free42 by Thomas Okken](https://hackerapproved.com/p/free42.md): 7 recommend
- [Math Notepad](https://hackerapproved.com/p/math-notepad.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "iPhone Calculator app", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-calculator-app/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).