PCalc Lite

I got this to replace the recently butchered Apple calculator. I’d been adding figures and copying and pasting totals into a running list for years, when suddenly the Apple calculator would only paste a seven digit number in scientific notation. Useless, in my world. So I got this app, but it had no commas between the thousands. I dug deeper and discovered a 99 cent “Power Pack” that purported to add thousand separators to the system. So I bought it. Well, it adds them to the calculator display, but if you copy and paste a total, they’re not there. So I’m out a buck and still have to futz with my totals to keep my years-long list consistent. Frustrating.

Used for years. Even tipped a few times. Imagine my surprise when I updated the phone today and the one thing I bought it for no longer existed. Edit: Apparently that’s and iOS 18 issue as they took away legacy widgets. Developer responded and told me they haven’t updated to the new style widgets because of typing lag using them. Having downloaded another highly rated calculator that uses the new style widgets, I can see what they are talking about. It’s not a great experience.

There are several “full feature” calculators in the App Store, and this is one of them. PCalc is an excellent choice, if you want a calculator that does number manipulation, this may be the one for you. If you need graphing, or ability to solve quadratic equations, you need to look elsewhere. What I’d like to see is a user manual as part of the app, not just a link to an online location. Also, if you do buy the packs, your icon is indistinguishable from the free version. I have all the packs, except the programmer pack (those days are in the distant past for me). There should be a difference in appearance and name - perhaps you can call it PCalc Plus, instead of PCalc Lite, and add the “+” symbol to the icon? Finally, do the currency conversions get automatically updated? If so, how often? If no, how do you update manually?