The purpose of this article is to share some initial thoughts on the recent release of Apple’s iPhone 16. While the latest and greatest iPhone will be remembered for the integration of artificial intelligence into the software, my attention has been focused on the new calculator app, which is also baked into the operating system. Apple’s new calculator app is, actually, three calculators housed in one app. While there have been minor, albeit welcome changes to the “Basic” and “Scientific” calculators, the third calculator, which is called “Math Notes”, is quite the calculator. One interesting feature, especially for those whose careers are dedicated to the learning and teaching of mathematics, is that answers now appear automatically as soon as you enter, by either writing (on an iPad) or typing (on an iPhone), an answerable math problem. Alternatively stated, your iPhone now, if you want, does the math for you. Before spiraling into a full-blown existential crisis, however, I look back at certain conversations regarding graphing calculators introduced in the 1990s. In doing so, I realize that everything changes and everything stays the same, which tempers, for now, my concerns about the impact Math Notes will have on the learning and teaching of mathematics.
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