Scientific Calculators Downgrade.
Hi everyone,
Just a message and wanted to know your thoughts on this.
There’s definitely something going on with scientific calculators lately, especially here in .
For years I used a first-generation Casio fx-991ES Plus and honestly it was perfect for physics and chemistry. The biggest advantage was the proper equation solve function — you could enter formulas directly and solve for unknowns without manually rearranging everything. In exams that saved heaps of time and reduced mistakes.
Recently I went looking for a replacement and the current options feel like a downgrade. The newer Casio fx-8200AU Plus has this redesigned menu system that somehow manages to be slower and more annoying to use, and the solve functionality is nowhere near as useful as the older models.
But the biggest issue for me is the removal of built-in scientific constants.
Older calculators used to store a huge range of constants:
Gravitational constant
Proton mass
Electron mass
Planck’s constant
Speed of light
Avogadro’s number
and heaps more.
Now you either get almost none of them or only a tiny amount of memory placeholders to save your own values. I think the newer one only gives something like 8 variable slots, which is ridiculous for science-heavy subjects.
It honestly feels like manufacturers and exam boards are slowly stripping scientific calculators down feature by feature. We’re getting newer hardware with worse usability and fewer actual scientific tools. For students doing physics, chemistry, or engineering, that’s a genuine step backwards.
Please feel free To share your thoughts on this and any recommendations other than getting off-brand/Gray Market ones as they are mostly strict about it!!
Thank you.