[jameshart]

Why?

Calculators are a relic of when we used to require separate single function devices to accomplish anything, like VCRs, Cameras, GPS receivers, music samplers, or transistor radios.

There is nothing a physical calculator can do that an IPython session can’t. And a physical calculator can’t copy paste the result where you want it (except modern phone camera OCR has I guess got to the point where you could probably grab the result off a calculator screen).

Outside of cases where you need dedicated pieces of hardware to accomplish a task, like motors or heating elements or something, there’s very little reason for preferring a dedicated device these days over a software or app equivalent. And even then, a version of the hardware that hooks up to a general purpose device to use its input and screen is likely the most useful form factor.

Modern ‘single function devices’ are most likely actually just low power multifunction computers running most of the functionality in software anyway.

[PeterisP]

Dedicated physical buttons are far superior to 'universal' touchscreen interfaces, if the thing you need fits on them.

And having a separate dedicated device helps having a workflow that doesn't invite distraction or context switching on a universal device, so having a dedicated device often is a reasonable intentional choice even if the same functionality is already available on another non-dedicated device.

[jameshart]

You can buy dedicated physical buttons and plug them into a computer. They’re called ‘keyboards’.

[avgcorrection]

Some even come in a format specialized for numerical data entry. They’re called “numpads”. :)

[PeterisP]

Some numpads even come with an attached specialized screen to show you what you entered and a bunch of other features - they're called "calculators" :)

[avgcorrection]

And the circle is complete :)

[Tor3]

I use a computer, and, as you mentioned later, one with a keyboard connected. However, except for simple stuff I still reach for my phone which has an HP emulator running, to do calculations with what looks like an actual calculator. Except that it doesn't have those very special old HP calculator buttons, so it's much worse than the real thing (I have an HP 16C laying around, but not a general style HP). But still preferable to the computer. So, here I am, with a computer and having used computers daily for close to half a century, and still grabbing for a dedicated thing for doing certain types of calculations.