By Jason Snell

September 15, 2017 9:00 AM PT

PCalc updated for new Apple hardware and… augmented reality?

Note: This story has not been updated for several years.

James Thomson’s venerable calculator app PCalc has been updated today on all its platforms, including iOS and watchOS, MacOS, and yes, tvOS.

My daughter’s doing pre-calculus this year and I have been reminded that I am apparently the go-to math expert in our house due to the year of college calculus I took during the late 1980s. I have forgotten more math than I remember, but wise people like Dr. Drang will tell you that PCalc is the best scientific calculator for Apple platforms.

PCalc has always mixed its massive amount of mathematical functionality with a bit of whimsy. At one point Thomson introduced a feature that would blot out the questionable words you can type using numbers. He’s doggedly figured out ways to create functional calculator interfaces on the Apple Watch and Apple TV, two places you might not expect to need a calculator.

Now there’s PCalc 3.7 on iOS, which features all those great math features you’d expect, plus support for Apple’s latest stuff, including iOS 11 drag and drop (and drag and drop on macOS for the first time too), resizable digits, iPhone X support, and 40 different custom icons.

Then there’s the About screen, which features a complete augmented-reality playground, where you can drop 3D objects into your living room. There’s also a car you can drive around. You heard me. A car.

Keep PCalc weird, I say.

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