The Role of the Graphing Calculator in 2021 and Beyond

[Solver]

This is a topic that I've thought about after scrolling through some past threads here. Earlier, there was a discussion about the future of HP calculators, and things were looking grim on that front due mostly to the fact that HP is not really concerned, at least at the moment, with their calculator division. And the cold hard truth is that they have a point, even with the pandemic and increased computer demand aside.

So, the real questions then are, what exactly is interfering with the calculator market in general? And perhaps most importantly, are graphing calculators like the HP Prime even still relevant?

The first question has two major answers for it I think. The government-mandated TI monopoly (at least in the US), and the gigantic threat of modern smartphones. Now, to be fair, I think the only reason TI even still has such a deal is due to sheer complacency. In the list of all the issues that require government attention, eliminating some old-as-hell calculator deal doesn't exactly rank very high, even if people now agree it's pretty damn silly. But who knows when we'll see any action on this, if at all, and will it even matter anymore when there is?

Which brings us to our second and last question. Compared to smartphones, are graphing calculators merely just a more clunky and locked down version of a smartphone running a CAS? Now, it is true that there isn't really an app yet (besides of course the HP Prime Pro emulator app) that rivals both the convenience and power of the Prime, but regardless of the current state of the market, such an app absolutely could be written. And then what will the Prime have to compete once that happens?

Well, one thing that a dedicated graphing calculator has over a phone is the ability for it to be in an education setting while disallowing any cheating. OK, fine. But what about in a professional setting? Why would an engineer pull out a graphing calculator when they could just do a calculation on their desktop/laptop/phone?

This is a really damn tough one, and guys, no matter what I can think of, there's no purpose a conventional graphing calculator serves that a smartphone couldn't serve just as well, even if it doesn't currently serve them at the moment or serve them well.

No, perhaps the answer and the true role of a graphing calculator is revealed only if we begin to really branch out and think of graphing calculators not as we did in the past, but as small-scale mass-produced calculation, sensor data collection, and automation devices. What if you could make any HP Prime act in place of a microcontroller with just a bit of configuration? What if we had a device like a Raspberry Pi, but with much more of the software already written out for it to interface with all kinds of hardware while also having a screen and an input method or two and also able to write and load programs for it on the fly while also being able to serve as a quick CAS?

Honestly, I think this is the way. The device that kids use to learn with also serving as a professional and industrial device in a workplace setting. That's damn powerful. And that may just be the only future that graphing calculators can really excel in now.