> programable calculators are already on the edge in some exams
Flashback to 2 decades ago where I'd scan and OCR large parts of text then copied them onto my Casio calculator over the serial port it had (on a mini jack even, IIRC). Didn't have a lot of memory, but enough, especially after doing simple find/replace operations like replacing all 'the' with 't', 'and' with 'a' and so on.
I study in India and we are required to use a casio calculator. The board that I study in is also used in multiple other countries and recommends only casio watches.
For simple maths a normal calculator is good enough, but you need a graphing calculator for more advanced math.