Here’s a bold truth: even in an age where artificial intelligence can solve mind-bending equations in seconds, one simple device refuses to surrender its place in the world: the pocket calculator. But here’s where things get interesting… despite AI’s brilliance, it can still hallucinate—while your trusty calculator never will.
In fact, this reliability has kept millions of calculators selling every year for Japan’s Casio, which is even exploring expansion into new markets. And this is the part most people miss: while AI tools race ahead with lightning-fast innovation, they occasionally stumble on surprisingly basic math. Meanwhile, calculators quietly continue doing what they’ve always done—delivering precise answers with zero drama.
Casio executive Tomoaki Sato summed it up simply when speaking to AFP: calculators always return the correct result. Still, he admits the possibility that calculators may eventually follow the path of the abacus—gradually fading as digital tools dominate.
He points out a clear trend: personal calculators used in workplaces are slowly declining, especially as smartphones and web browsers can already handle everyday calculations. And after AI models reached gold-level recognition at a major global mathematics competition in 2025, the pressure on traditional devices only increased.
Yet here comes the twist: calculators still hold powerful advantages. They’re cheaper than smartphones and run on batteries or solar power—major perks in schools located in developing regions, which Casio sees as a promising growth opportunity. Plus, many people simply like how calculators feel in the hand.
Take Bangkok shop owner Thitinan Suntisubpool, for example. Working in a store full of lucky red bags and beckoning cat figurines, she says her oversized calculator has survived multiple drops and keeps going strong. She loves how easy it is to show customers totals directly on the screen—a small gesture that helps avoid language misunderstandings.
But not everyone sees booming demand. A nearby street vendor selling clocks, flashlights, and calculators said business has been unusually quiet. This contrast highlights a bigger global question: is the calculator’s resilience temporary, or will it maintain a long-term niche?
Inside a Casio factory in Thailand, workers still assemble the devices by hand, carefully fitting green circuit boards and snapping cube-shaped buttons labeled “DEL” into pastel-blue frames. According to Casio Thailand general manager Ryohei Saito, there is still steady demand worldwide—after all, not every country has stable smartphone connectivity, and calculators offer simple, purpose-built functionality without distractions.
The numbers back this up. From March of last year, Casio sold 39 million calculators—both standard and scientific—in roughly 100 countries. While this is down from 45 million in 2019–2020, it remains higher than the steep dip to 31 million during the first year of the pandemic.
Casio’s journey has been long and storied. The company’s first major breakthrough was in 1957 with the release of the 14-A—considered the first compact all-electric calculator. And calculator history recently resurfaced in headlines when Christie’s halted the Paris auction of La Pascaline, a 1642 mechanical calculating device, after a court ruled it could not be taken out of the country. Christie’s described the machine as “the first attempt in history to substitute the human mind with a machine.”
Of course, the attempt to mimic human reasoning has accelerated dramatically with AI. In July, advanced models by Google, OpenAI, and DeepSeek earned gold-level scores at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Yet not one managed a perfect score—something achieved by five human competitors that same year.
IMO president Gregor Dolinar said the progress of AI in mathematics is undeniably fascinating. According to him, while students once relied heavily on scientific calculators, today it’s often easier to simply ask an AI system—if you know how to phrase the question correctly. These tools can tackle abstract problems and even reveal the logical steps behind their answers.
Dolinar, who teaches engineering at the University of Ljubljana, believes physical calculators will “slowly disappear,” a shift he already sees among his own students. With smartphones capable of performing any calculation, the traditional calculator may gradually lose its role.
But here’s the big, controversial question: Should we really let calculators fade away? They’re reliable, distraction-free, inexpensive, and accessible—qualities that modern digital tools don’t always guarantee.
What do you think? Are calculators relics of the past, or do they still serve a meaningful purpose in a tech-driven world? Should schools keep using them, or is it time to switch entirely to AI-powered devices? Share your thoughts—agree, disagree, or even strongly oppose. Let the debate begin.
