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Don't Use the Calculator on iOS 11.1


We already know that for various users, iOS 11.1 makes media playback stutter, breaks audio control on the lock screen, and autocorrects the word “I” to an unrecognizable character. But there’s more! It also breaks the Calculator app.

For many users, the Calculator app on iOS 11.1 is so slow that it doesn’t register all your button presses. For example, as tech blog Select All points out, if you type 1+2+3=, your answer will be 24, not 6. That’s because the calculator doesn’t register the + fast enough, so it reads your input as 1+23. To avoid this in Calculator, you have to type very slowly.

Until Apple fixes this, skip Calculator altogether. Try these calculators instead:

  • The drop-down search bar works fine, and displays your entire equation, a feature that really ought to be included in the Calculator app.

  • Google’s iOS keyboard solves math equations right in the autocorrect bar.

  • Pay $3 for the calculator app Soulver. It lets you view and edit your entire equation, and even save it for later. (Soulver’s $12 Mac app does the same; I’ve relied on it for years.)

  • If you need a scientific calculator, software review site The Sweet Setup recommends PCalc.

  • Listen to the unapproved commenters on every Lifehacker iPhone post, and switch to Android.

Hopefully iOS 11.2 will fix all these embarrassing bugs, or at least replace them with exciting new ones.