Google adds 34-button calculator to search results

Google has beefed up its built-in calculator function, adding an interface with 34 buttons. When a user types a sum such as “2 + 2” or “4 x 5,” they are now confronted by the visual interface shown above — previously, Google would simply spit out the answer as text. The calculator includes functions for processing sines, cosines, and tangents as well as dedicated buttons for Pi and Euler’s number.

According to an official Google Twitter account, the company began rolling out the latest stage, 3.9, of its Panda algorithm update last night, but it is not clear whether the addition of the calculator is connected. The calculator is one of a number of features implemented in recent months which seem designed to shift Google’s role away from that of a simple search engine and towards a new position as a general tool for answers.