It's just odd, anything ever made with a user interface since the 80's has had a calculator app. Apple just remove features and charge more for something that is inherently similar to everything else they've ever done.
Except there are tons of free calculator apps, so they aren't charging more in this case. Your criticism of Apple, in general, is warranted. Just not in this case.
... it is a calculator ... all it needs is like 15 buttons and a number screen.
It is the most basic program any student programmer creates at some point during their studies. And can be shown on just about every UI you can imagine.
It is also something every person uses.
Those apple excuses you mention, are just rubbish.
They have gone publicly on record saying they didn’t find an “Appley” way to bring calculator to the iPad. As an iPad user myself who has used 3rd party calculator apps this whole time, I get it. They all suck. The interfaces are all over the place. It is enough for Apple to let users download whichever app best fit their needs, instead of staking their claim, as they do with all their other apps, that the calculator app they made is the best one.
I'm all for choice or whatever, but a simple system-provided calculator should be benign and lightweight enough to be there and coexist with any competing calculator app without much drawback. Like a clock or web browser.
You can use the search bar for quick calculations. That doesn’t escuses Apple from adding an calculator app on iPad! Most calculator apps have ads or are paid
Mostly with ads. It’s easy to argue that a calculator is more fundamental to a functional tablet than a web browser is, and Apple includes one. By all means, there ought to be a market for calculator apps, but it’s pretty fundamental to cover the basics. Also, Apple already has a calculator on iPhone and iPad runs pretty much the same software, so where is it?