Category: Google Calculator

Google and other developers continue to update their apps to support multi-window views in Android Nougat and the latest to get the treatment is Google Calculator.  Now let’s be honest, calculator apps aren’t exactly exciting.  The principles of mathematics haven’t changed and frankly, no app is going to make it really exciting.  It is utilitarian. But, that said, having the ability to have the calculator on one pane while say in Sheets or Excel in the other?  That can be really handy.

The updated build is version 7.1.1 for those keeping score at home and the update is available now in the Play Store.  If you have the app already installed, you should see the OTA update for it over the course of the next few days.  Don’t expect to see a lot of changes.  It is a calculator.  But it is a calculator that you can now run in parallel on your screen with another app which can be quite handy.

For those who don’t remember how to get to multi-window in Nougat, have at least two apps open and then tap-and-hold the Recents button.  You will then be able to select the app you want at the bottom (or right in landscape mode) on your screen.  Tap it and you have two apps visible.  You can then use the bar between the two apps to resize one window to make it larger depending on your needs.

The utilitarian app Google Calculator has been updated for Android and while it is certainly a small update, it does have one nice new creature comfort feature and an underlying more important one.  First, the update is build is version 7.0.1 for those keeping score at home and it is rolling out in the Google Play Store now.  You should see the OTA in a day or two.  As for the creature comfort feature, the app now groups large numbers.  In other words, here in the US, you will see a comma between each group of numbers such as 123,456,789.  Previously you would just see 123456789.  Again, not a big deal but it does make it easier if you are using the app for computing large numbers.