Numerical 2:
Calculator Without Equal
IOS Developer, Designer (2017 iOS APP)
After the surprise success of Numerical I started rewriting the app with an eye to releasing a big 2.0 update. v1 was written in Objective C and, being one of my first apps, was not very well architected. v2 would be my chance to rewrite it in Swift with all the lessons I had learnt. It would sync with iCloud, have scientific keys, text editting features, widgets, custom themes, and every other feature fans had asked for! This turned out to be quite ambitious.
Development dragged and as the app became more complex it became bloated and harder to use. I tinkered away at it for a couple of years as a side project and eventually, finally, released in 2017. The update was… not received well. The interface had drastically changed without warning! There were bugs and stability issues! Accessibility features caused UI problems! There were so many rough edges and I came to understand that users loved the app because it was fast, simple, and stable, and my efforts to throw every neat feature into the product had resulted in a mess. Reading pages of 1 star reviews after a protracted development process was a bitter pill to swallow and I considered just removing it from the App Store entirely.
Fortunately my better nature prevailed and I decided to take it seriously and work hard to make it right. I made a long bug and feature list and started digging into it each evening after my 9-to-5 job would complete. I made the UI configurable so a user could decide how to layout the screen and make it “more like the old version”. I fixed bugs and improved performance and slowly, haltingly, the sentiment changed. Overtime this steady work seemed to resonate with users, and good reviews starting coming in. The extra features, like widgets and iCloud syncing, also won fans.
It now enjoys a healthy 4.8 stars on the App Store and I will never forget the lessons learnt through this difficult process. Everything costs, and you feature creep is a real problem. I would love to rewrite the app in Swift UI and get it running on macOS - oneday.
Software and Tools:
Swift
Xcode
Github
Sketch
Photoshop
App Store Details
Numerical² is the calculator without equal! Whether you’re doing simple math, scientific equations, advanced brackets, or just like a pretty app, Numerical² is the answer! Use the Today Widget and work straight from Notification Center.
FAST
- No equals button! Just type a question and get your answer.
- Brackets are added automatically as you type.
- Equations are automatically saved to the History list, which now syncs with iCloud.
- Rewritten in Swift to be fast fast fast.
SMART
- Full scientific keypad including sin/cos/tan, EE, ln, log, square root and more!
- Use the fraction key to do coherent fractional math and your answer is presented in numeric and fractional formats.
- Use Pi, E and infinity to determine the answer to any question, including impossible ones.
FLEXIBLE
- Customise your perfect calculator by changing History position to be behind keyboard or to the side ala Numerical 1.
- Landscape finally works on iPhone.
- Full support for iPad Split Screen multi-tasking.
- Install the Numerical² keyboard so you can calculate a question in any app. Tap a button and the answer is inserted in the text field.
- Made a mistake? Tap the current equation to enter edit mode where you can select characters, insert and delete.
- Options to hide scientific keyboard, change decimal count of answer, and use radians/degrees for angle maths.
- Decimals and grouping symbols are localised.
EVERYWHERE
- Install the Numerical² Keyboard and calculate a question in any textfield in iOS.
- Enable the Today Widget so you can work directly from Notification Center.
- Tap to copy, paste or insert the answer in the currently context.
- History syncs via iCloud.
- Now support external bluetooth keyboards.
BEAUTIFUL
- Beautiful minimalist design.
- Apply 16 beautiful themes including new entrants Candy, Mint, Lava and a set of “bright themes”.
- Use the Theme Creator to make your own bright and beautiful color scheme, and name it accordingly.
- Snappy sound effects.
FREE
- Numerical² is Free, but you can become a Numerical Supporter if you really like what we’re doing and want to send a few $ our way each month.
If you have any questions or feedback please get in touch:
verytinymachines@gmail.com
Developed by Andrew J Clark. Designed by Andrew J Clark & Alex Vanderzon.
We hope you love it <3