# TI-83 Plus

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-83-calculator/

15 people recommended TI-83 Plus in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 6 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

8 of the 15 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Ti-84 Evo”.

**Verdict:** Many people say it taught them to program, and it lasts for years; the built-in BASIC is limited and awkward to type on, and critics call the price high.

Summary written by Claude from 27 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 25 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Taught people to program (7 comments in the sample): "My ti-82/83 got me into programming because I hated math so much that I taught myself to code an app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47982873)) "taught an entire generation that programming was possible on hardware you already owned" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48055086)) "I make a living today because my dad brought home a Ti-83 Plus" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981139))
- Lasts for decades, passed down (2 comments in the sample): "the older models lasted forever on 4 AAAs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47980771)) "I will be passing that down to my kids." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48051245))
- Advanced handheld for its time (2 comments in the sample): "it was easily the most advanced handheld computing hardware I had ever been exposed to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981239)) "it was simply the most mindblowing device at the time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47983104))
- Dependable, dedicated single-purpose device (2 comments in the sample): "My TI-83 is deterministic and will give me exactly what I ask for, and will always do so" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45950481)) "dedicated to a single use that it does very well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46842812))

## What people warn about

- Price high; frequent upgrades (3 comments in the sample): "The TI-83 is just a $160 tax on every high school student." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47981739)) "TI has always gouged their captive market." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47980339)) "I was having to upgrade every few years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47983434))
- Hard to program with buttons (2 comments in the sample): "Authoring programs using the buttons on the calculator was not fun." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48048785)) "It was OK, just needed to memorize the commands" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48048851))
- Small screen, memory errors (2 comments in the sample): "the calculator screen can only show you 8 lines at a time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47450565)) "As kid I got ERR:MEMORY allot while trying to create games." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48051818))
- Built-in BASIC too limited (2 comments in the sample): "Also there are only 27 variables. Which made it hard for me to write a Snake clone until I figured out how to use Lists." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48051412)) "The Basic was SO BAD that I had to learn Z80 assembly to make anything good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48049304))

## Other calculators people recommend

- [Texas Instruments TI-84 Evo](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-84-evo/): 29 recommend, 10 mixed, 50 criticize
- [TI-89 calculator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-89-calculator/): 25 recommend, 6 mixed, 8 criticize
- [HP 15C](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hp-15c-calculator/): 21 recommend, 2 mixed, 2 criticize
- [HP 48G](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hp-48g-calculator/): 13 recommend, 3 mixed, 1 criticize

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.ti.com/)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "TI-83 Plus", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ti-83-calculator/ (15 recommend, 4 mixed, 8 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.