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I’m not asking facetiously, what could a new calculator do better? I had one of those treasured 2000s-era TI- something’s graphing calculators. But left it with my ex because her kids were getting older. I was like, the kids will laugh but might need it for an SAT thing.
Are the graphing calculators these days competitive with average smartphones? Why can’t I get a smartphone that is more like a graphing calculator?
Well i personally was more thinking non-graphing calculators. I personally feel once i want graphs and complex programs I'm better off using a laptop. I feel like when comparing the HP prime smartphone app and the real HP prime, then there is something to having physical buttons that does help.
I’m not really a numbers guy, but tactile buttons for alphabets in an interface is also super cool. Aka mechanical keyboards or whatever.
I miss the slide-out keyboard on my last non-smart phone (probably back in 2009 or so).
I really like the RPN input of the HP calculators. My HP48SX has died, but I have a HP35s, and the Swiss Micros DM32 & DM42.
I saw a video on youtube recently about how various algebraic input calculators handle PEDMAS/PEJDMAS order of operations:
On an RPN calculator, this is all moot, since RPN is unambiguous and the calculator simply executes the operators in the order you enter them.
The 15C reissue was pretty easy to make, considering they already had the tooling from the 12C. Anything beyond that is going to need new tooling, which massively increases costs.
That being said, I have hopes. HP calculators was just spun off into a new business, and they probably want something to sell. Maybe a new RPN model based on the hardware of the 35s?
My ideal would be an update to the 50g that fixes the bugs and weirdness, in a nice case reminiscent of the 48GX. I know they won’t do it, but that doesn’t change what I want. Maybe SwissMicros might make something along those lines someday?
I personally loved the look of the HP 35s. Also the 35s had the ability to store algebraic formulas which neither the Casio fx-991CW nor the TI 30/36X Pro can. If HP could make an actually really good 35s successor that would be great. With fewer bugs and a handful of more features and maybe even with an optional multi line textbook style display? If it had a big dot matrix display you could have a large stack for RPN in addition to a textbook style mode with persistent history. The 35s is rather power hungry so it that continues to be a problem for HP calcs then why not have a USB-C rechargeable battery in it? And if it already has a USB port then it would be cool if one could export and import programs and formulas! I can always dream...