PicSolve for iPhone

Free-to-use word problem solver

PicSolve is a free-to-use educational tool from the PicSolve team. This studying tool lets you scan any word problem and the app will automatically solve it for you. It doesn’t matter if it’s multiple choice, an essay-type question, or a mathematical problem, you only need to scan it with your device camera and it will provide an answer, complete with explanations.

With such a revolutionary premise, it’s no surprise that PicSolve has a couple of issues of its own. Its main problem is a connectivity issue that prevents users from connecting to the platform, making the app unreliable.

Next-gen educational tool

Unlike other problem-solving apps such as Mathway - Math Problem Solver, PicSolve has an interesting operation. Users only need to take photos of the problem and the app leverages character recognition to find a match on its problem bank, or from the internet. Once a match is found, the solution and the final answer are presented in an orderly manner. This works on different types of problems, from mathematical to philosophical.

As for the app layout, it’s quite straightforward. Design choices all facilitate the user toward using the app. While it is only good for a single application, it is definitely user-friendly. The setup can cause delay for some users, especially since the app doesn’t automatically integrate with the device. Users have reported having to manually set up app permissions before using this potentially helpful tool.

However, it’s safe to say that the app has fallen from grace. What was once hailed as a revolutionary educational tool is now barely working. From starting up the app, users complain about being unable to connect to the app, citing network issues even though the user maintains an active internet connection. Also, the app struggles in identifying handwriting or poor-quality prints.

Promising but no longer reliable

PicSolve is still available for download and use for absolutely free. However, most of the features that made it a hit shortly after its release are no longer available. In theory, it can solve different types of problems. However, the reality is that it’s hard to connect to the app’s servers, and even then, there are challenges in its ability to recognize the characters that it scans.