Apple has long had a curious blind spot when it comes to a certain widely-used type of app for its hugely popular range of iPad tablets.

There's no official calculator on its iPads, in short, a bizarre omission that is reportedly down to the idea that Apple would want to somehow innovate or one-up the competition if it's going to bother making a new app.

That's a weird line given how useful a calculator can be, and how little innovation really matters in the context of a workmanlike app of its type.

If you're wondering how to actually do some calculations on your iPad, though, we've got some options for you.

Don't buy a paid app!

We can't speak for everyone in the world, but the App Store is absolutely flooded with paid-for calculator apps, with the lack of an official iPad app being a contributing factor.

While some of these do offer clean designs or some interesting features, there are so many ways to do calculations quickly, and for free, that we simply don't think it makes sense to buy one of these apps.

Plus, while a few might be reputable, many are scams in disguise, offering insanely-priced subscriptions and in-app transactions that can trap you into spending money that you could absolutely use better elsewhere.

Ask Siri to do your maths

Siri might not be something that you use every day, or it could be a tool that's embedded in your life - either way, one thing it can be super useful for is a quick challenge like a maths problem.

Simply use the "Hey Siri" prompt (unless you've totally deactivated the smart assistant) to ask it your maths and you'll get a very quick response.

Use Google in a browser

The behemoth that is Google might be Apple's competitor, but you can play them off against each other by simply opening up a browser on your iPhone, heading to Google.

Just type in your mathematical expression or problem, hit search, and you'll get the answer presented to you. Best of all, there will be a calculator interface below it for further questions.