iOS 18 hidden feature: iPhones can do math calculations on any text field!

Apple’s iOS 18 developer beta software became available soon after the WWDC 2024 event. We actually tested it already, if you’re interested. Many users who dare venture into this experimental software are finding even more improvements Apple didn’t even cover in its announcement, such as this one.

X user @rjonesy discovered that iOS 18 allows you to do math calculations within any text field, using the keyboard. So, when you’re chatting with a friend and need to handle some math, you no longer need to look for the calculator app. Just type the problem right into the same text field, and iOS 18 will give you the solution. You can then opt to show just the final answer, or display the whole math problem along with the answer. You can see a sample in the image below.

I don’t know about you guys, but this WWDC 2024 actually made me feel a bit jealous of iPhone users. While some of the new iOS 18 features seemed old to us Android loyalists, others were quite interesting. This is definitely one of them.

It seems Apple is paying more attention to its math capabilities now. For example, we were also quite surprised by the new Math Notes calculator app for iPadOS, which allows you to draw math problems to get an answer. You can take a closer look at this in our iPadOS 18 hands-on article.

Are you wondering when you’ll be able to do math problems from anywhere you can use the keyboard? The developer beta software is out, but we advise against using it unless you are an actual developer. A general beta will come next month, in July. But if you want to play it safe, just wait for the Fall release of iOS 18. Until then, you can check if your iPhone will get the update.