Ti-84 Evo

https://education.ti.com/en/products/calculators/graphing-calculators/ti-84-evo

69•thatxliner•1h ago

Comments

aaronbrethorst•36m ago

$160 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Instruments-TI84-TI-Calculator/...

Not as bad as I would've expected. Also, apparently it includes a very simple Python environment? https://education.ti.com/en/product-resources/eguides/eguide...

retired•32m ago

For a $10 BoM and maybe a year of R&D I would say that $160 is bad.

aaronbrethorst•23m ago

A TI-83 was about $100 in the year 2000, and it doesn't look like it's that much cheaper today. I would've expected Texas Instruments to try gouging their very captive market.

LeCompteSftware•16m ago

But you can't divorce that from computing technology in general. A TI-83 used a z80 in 2000 and was priced at 1990's z80 rates, it was already gouging even back then! Now 26 years later the TI-84 uses an ez80 (or something something similar), which was introduced in 2001.

TI has always gouged their captive market. It is just increasingly ridiculous when those students also have smartphones.

FWIW I think these graphing calculators are quite good for 2026 students! It is nice to have a computer which is actually comprehensible. They just need to be more like $50. $160 is just evil.

aaronbrethorst•10m ago

Shrug. The SAT and ACT don't let you use an iPhone on their exams. $160 is what the market will bear. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, it just is, and perhaps there's a market for a much cheaper competitor to beat TI here.

andyfilms1•10m ago

Their engineers are still trying to figure out how to make backlit keys. Just give them another two decades, I'm sure they'll crack it.

eiiot•36m ago

Interesting that this doesn't seem to include a computer algebra system like the Nspire CAS. Wonder if it's a testing environment compliance thing?

ezfe•17m ago

Absolutely is

mettamage•34m ago

It runs Python!

National exams will be wild for the kids capable of programming or vibe coding.

retired•21m ago

With a 156MHz processor and 3.5 megabytes of user-available memory the kids will even learn how to optimize their code!

guizzy•34m ago

> Built to be a reliable learning tool, not a distraction

15 year old me in math class programming my loaned TI-82: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Yossarrian22•34m ago

Ti really needs to stop with the artificial product differentiation. There's no reason 15 years after the Nspire CX CAS came out that everyone of their calculators can't do CAS.

alfalfasprout•33m ago

Heck, you could do a decent amount with the CAS back in the TI-89.

selectodude•26m ago

Decent? I'm not sure the new CAS models do anything that the TI-89 didn't.

NetMageSCW•32m ago

The reason is exam requirements - some professional certifications don’t allow CAS calculators and have other restrictions.

loeg•31m ago

It doesn't help students learn if the tool does everything for them. This isn't a tool for professionals.

JoshTriplett•31m ago

Advanced calculators are in an unusual space with external constraints on it. Some of the features or differentiation they add serves the constraint of "if you don't, we won't let students use it in the classroom".

When a calculator is used in a classroom, there's a concern about people using the calculator to replace the skill that's being taught. So, for instance, there's space for a calculator with no CAS, for a class that's trying to teach you to do algebra. That is in some ways easier than "don't use this function of the calculator".

ndriscoll•15m ago

My linear algebra class used F_2 as our field probably half the time that it was specified. Realistically almost any course probably doesn't need calculators at all (or they could at least be kept for homework). If you're not teaching arithmetic, you keep the arithmetic simple. If you're not teaching algebra, you keep the algebra simple. etc.

xp84•31m ago

I don't think it's been about costs or CPU for at least 20 years, but isn't it more that for kids to learn to do math, it's better not to have CAS always at hand? So that's why there are some in the lineup without it.

sosborn•23m ago

CAS capabilities are prohibited in the SAT: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/what-to-bring-do/calcu...

hatsunearu•4m ago

Wow, they used to be allowed back when I was in high school. It came in super clutch for SAT but much more importantly AP. Our school mandated the original CS CAS and drilled us on how to use it effectively and I got good mileage out of it through high school testing and college.

I lost it at some point and got the version 2 and I would occasionally use it for work. I wish it had USB-C because who has a mini-B cable for charging these days

dheera•23m ago

Honest question: Why do we need physical graphing calculators anymore? Can't this just be a phone app?

That screen resolution for one is horrible for 2026.

loloquwowndueo•18m ago

Mostly for students in settings that may disallow either smartphones or calculators with specific advanced features (schools, SAT exams etc)

Also I don’t know about you but these days I welcome stuff that allows me to stay away from the damn phone.

JoshTriplett•33m ago

> Not just an upgrade — an EVOlution

Oh no.

girvo•26m ago

You’re absolutely right!

…LLM-isms are like nails on chalkboard I swear. Instant turn off the moment I read them.

Even if they’re maybe not lol, doesn’t matter my visceral reaction is negative.

smlacy•22m ago

156 MHz!!!!

moffkalast•32m ago

Genuine question, who uses these in practice? In my experience, calculators beyond the basic were always banned in high school and college, cause everyone's so afraid people might store something into them, and afterwards it's just matlab and python. It's not like laptops aren't a thing that everyone has on hand.

NetMageSCW•31m ago

You may have gone to a poor high school and college. I saw plenty of calculator use in high school and college a long time ago.

moffkalast•30m ago

Sure calculators were allowed in some cases, the "scientific" kind, not the graphing kind.

But yes I would agree. So much time spent making sure people don't learn to use the tools they'll always have on hand. Programming exams on paper and that kind of inane bullshit.

pclowes•25m ago

IIRC You don’t use them in the dumb kids class much, you use them a fair amount in the sort of smart class, and you don’t use them much in the actually smart class.

Kwpolska•18m ago

Those are permitted in schools and even exams in the US, for example. That’s also why they’re often so limited, to make the exam cartels happy.

V99•14m ago

These have been standard equipment (that you buy, or the school loans out) in middle-class US high school math since the 90's (and gone basically unchanged since then). The math books even have content tailored to particular models so that you'll have to buy them instead of alternatives from other vendors.

kenanfyi•6m ago

Electronics engineer here. I use my HP Prime G2 daily in the lab for basic things as well as quickly calculating complicated stuff, since you can pretty much program it to do whatever you want.

You might say why not use Python or Matlab?! It‘s true that you don‘t need a small handheld device to do engineering calculations where there is a ton of other much stronger and free options out there. But the thing is, a calculator is a pure dedication to one thing. You turn it on, you do your calculation, get the answer and move on. It gets out of your way. Plus it is a better feeling to type stuff using the dedicated buttons in a calculator than using a keyboard.

LeoPanthera•32m ago

What calculators are you guys using that aren't in academia anymore and don't need the "exam approved" limitations?

Or are we all just using software on our computers now.

That would be sad.

(I've had a Casio fx-991EX on my desk for a few years, that replaced a broken Casio fx-991ES. Though designed for academia, its operation is burned into my brain at this point.)

JoshTriplett•28m ago

> What calculators are you guys using that aren't in academia anymore and don't need the "exam approved" limitations?

I still have my TI-85, but I essentially haven't used it since I left college. For 99% of what I need, I use either Python, or what's built into Firefox (e.g. unit conversion), or DDG. For that last 1% (e.g. full CAS functionality), I tend to grab whatever web-based non-AI tool is handy.

ezfe•18m ago

Web based AI tools are remarkably helpful these days since they no longer try to do math themselves and instead write python to do it.

wtallis•26m ago

I use emu48 on my phone emulating the HP-50g, which was almost exactly the same size as the phone so my muscle memory somewhat carries over (minus the tactile feedback of a real keyboard). I still have the physical calculator on my desk at home, with no batteries in it so it's only usable within reach of its USB cable.

Anything that goes beyond what that calculator's UI can reasonably handle is going to end up in a Jupyter notebook or something like that.

alanbernstein•22m ago

Ti89 emulator on my android. Muscle memory from high school and college use is strong.

rpcope1•19m ago

Honestly, most of the time whatever the newest variant of the TI-30 is ends up being plenty (and what I have at my desk).

cristoperb•11m ago

I still use my TI-89 from high school, but I'm interested to find if there are any open hardware/firmware calculator projects with basic engineering tools and a CAS.

max51•11m ago

I use a TI nspire CX CAS.

honestly, I think it makes no sense to spend more than 30$ on a calculator if it can't do symbolic math.

The way you input things like division, integrals, matrix, etc. on newer calculators like the nspire is far superior than the older calculators (eg. ti-84, ti-89, etc.). They look like how you write them on a blackboard instead of relying on purely parentheses or "," and ";" to separate parameters. It's like going from Excel to Mathcad

wyre•32m ago

It has Python? That's pretty cool.

cyanureworld•32m ago

There's the NumWorks which is very similar for a more reasonable price, that also run Python

Jyaif•28m ago

And you can tell that TI pretty clearly copied the NumWorks calculator.

mikehotel•22m ago

Numworks is so much better. According to kids that have access to Ti and HP graphing calculators.

The hardware and software design similarities between this Evo and Numworks is a strong endorsement.

pclowes•30m ago

75” 4k OLED screens would have been unobtainable when I first used a TI.

10yrs ago they would have been 4 to 5 figures.

Now they are what? A couple hundred?

How in the world is a TI graphing calculator still $160? These 30yr old calculator chips apparently hold their value like gold…

MattDamonSpace•26m ago

It’s got a 3x faster processor brah

pclowes•23m ago

Good point, my understanding of a cubic function in 02 was totally stunted by the processor speed…

Yeri•23m ago

What's the "online calculator license" ?

"Online calculator included (four-year subscription) •($80 value)"

cristoperb•9m ago

Apparently just a TI-84 Evo emulator(?) that you can run in a browser for $20/year:

https://education.ti.com/en/products/calculators/graphing-ca...

lvl155•22m ago

Biggest ripoff in academics.

There should be a cheap open source calculators for schools and exams. It’s ridiculous that TI is still charging this.

vvpan•22m ago

We had to buy those calculators for highschool and it was a waste of money, felt like somebody must be paying somebody off to have thousands of students buy a device that they will certainly never have to use (and is of little educational value).

pavel_lishin•20m ago

I certainly got a lot of educational value out of mine. I managed to program a fully functional Minesweeper game on mine, using the built-in programming tools - no transferring efficient binaries via cable!

But yes. 99% of what we did with them in class - when we were even allowed to use them - could have been handled by a little solar-powered calculator with basic arithmetic functions.

ezfe•19m ago

I used mine constantly in highschool (10 years ago).

jhatemyjob•11m ago

Same. Used my TI-84 all the time back in the early 2010s. But we probably went to better schools than most people. I agree with the parent, I always got the vibe it was a giant racket between public schools and TI. Writing code for it was probably cool back in the 80s but it's so dated now.

badc0ffee•13m ago

30 years ago, we had the option of the TI-82 Or (83?) and the 85. A bunch of the kids with the 85 were playing Tetris and some were writing little programs. I got the cheaper 82/83, and I don't actually remember using it for anything, even once, even though I did the IB track (stats, trig, algebra, calculus, etc).

jgord•11m ago

concur .. better to have a 40-buck fx82 for daily math and use Desmos for graphing, than fork out 250 to 300 for a super-duper calc they wont use.

rglover•18m ago

But can you side load and run Drug Wars? [1]

Edit (for the uninitiated): [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Wars_(video_game)

palmotea•16m ago

> Simplified keypad

> The keypad layout removes clutter and makes commands and shortcuts easier to see, so you can work faster with fewer steps.

I don't see it. I compared a screenshot of one of these to a older T-84, and it looks like they have same number of buttons, and the buttons are just as cluttered (except the EVO has secondary labels on the keycaps instead of the case).

That's a good thing, since one of the best things about calculators is they typically have a ton of buttons for quick access to a lot of functions.

esafak•13m ago

It's a shame that maths in American schools is equated with calculation. All you need is a calculator!

wslh•13m ago

Looking at the price of this and other calculators, I wonder if there's a market for "dumb calculators" analogous to dumb terminals: a device with the calculator form factor, keyboard, and display, but where the actual computation happens on a paired computer/phone or a cloud endpoint over WiFi/Bluetooth.

kristopolous•6m ago

Show me a highschool math problem you can't do on a $12 Casio scientific...

There's even knockoffs of it for like $3 at value stores.

Look what you can get for $20: https://www.casio.com/intl/scientific-calculators/product.FX...

rogerrogerr•4m ago

The contrived ones where they make you graph stuff, but that’s about it.

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