Apple Math Notes vs alai

What each one is

Math Notes is part of the Calculator and Notes apps on iPad. When you write or type an expression with an equals sign, it works out the result, and it can graph equations. alai is a notes app for iPad and the web with a tutor called Ally, who follows the steps you write and asks a question when one goes wrong.

Both read the math you write by hand on an iPad, and they do different jobs with it. Math Notes is a calculator that understands handwriting, so its job is to give you results. Ally's job is to help you find the step where your reasoning slipped, and to leave the fixing to you.

At a glance

How Math Notes works

Apple introduced Math Notes with iPadOS 18 in June 2024. It lives in the Calculator app, and the same math works inline in the Notes app, where the Math Notes you make in Calculator also show up in a Math Notes folder.

According to Apple's iPad guide, you type or write an expression and include an equals sign, and the answer appears. You can set a variable, such as x = 5, and use it in later lines. Change the value, or drag the slider that appears over a number, and every result and graph that uses it updates. Math Notes also converts units and currencies, so a line like 42 meters + 143 feet works.

Write an equation with two variables, such as y = 5x + 3, and you can insert a graph. Since iPadOS 26 you can also graph in three dimensions by writing an equation with z on the left and x and y on the right.

You choose how results appear. Insert Results fills answers in as you write, Suggest Results shows a Solve button when you write an equals sign, and Off shows no answers. When Math Notes can't read something, it marks it: dotted red lines for math it can't recognize or solve, and dotted blue lines for characters it isn't sure about.

Math Notes also works on iPhone with iOS 18 or later, and Notes in macOS Sequoia solves equations you type on a Mac.

What Math Notes does well

• It's already on your iPad, free, in apps you know.
• It's fast for everyday math: a long sum, a unit conversion, or a quick check of a number in the middle of a bigger problem.
• Its graphs help you see the math. Drag a value and watch the curve move, or put several equations on one graph to see how they relate.
• It works in your handwriting, so a page of notes can carry live results.
• You stay in control of answers. If you'd rather not see results while you practice, you can switch them to a Solve button or turn them off.

Where alai is different

Math Notes works on the line you write: it calculates what comes after an equals sign. alai looks at how each line follows from the one before.

Say you're solving 3(x + 4) = 2x + 19 and your next line is 3x + 4 = 2x + 19. Ally reads that step, highlights the +4 and asks something like "Did the 3 reach every term inside the brackets?" The question is designed to point you at the slip without writing the fix for you, so the corrected line is yours to write. If you're stuck before anything goes wrong, you can ask Ally for a hint, which is designed to stop one step short of the next move.

Ally also remembers what tripped you up in earlier sessions and what helped, and can bring that up when the same slip comes back. You can hold to talk and ask Ally why a step works. And if your homework is on a worksheet, you can upload a photo or a PDF of it and write on the page itself.

alai is new. It opened to the public in November 2026. alai is for students 13 and older in the US, and younger children through a parent. Math Notes comes with iPadOS 18 and later.

Which to pick

• Quick sums, unit conversions or splitting a bill: Math Notes.
• Seeing what an equation looks like, or how changing a number moves its graph: Math Notes.
• Practicing algebra and wanting to know where your reasoning slipped: alai.
• Homework where your teacher marks the steps, not only the answer: alai, because Ally asks about the step itself.
• You don't want to sign up for anything: Math Notes. alai needs a free account.

Using both

They sit side by side on the same iPad. Work through the problem in alai, where Ally follows your steps, and keep Math Notes open for arithmetic you don't need help with, or to graph your final answer and see whether it makes sense.