This article doesn't actually directly address the question in the title. It observes that Texas Instruments calculators are still in wide use (due to network effects and some specific advantages over competing technologies), and that the calculators are a very high profit-margin product for TI. What I find somewhat more interesting is that TI is evidently in a monopoly position and has no real incentive to seriously lower prices or to produce a new, cheaper, and improved version of their baseline model.

I also find it interesting how relatively little attention is given to the advantage of tactile buttons:

> Plus, she says, her kids love the fact that the calculators are clunky and tactile, an opinion anyone who misses the tactile, QWERTY keyboards of earlier smartphones shares. > "The learning curve is higher, but the buttons... they love pushing 'em," Yenca said.

Frankly, I've never seen a touchscreen interface for anything that could effectively compete with a well-designed physical interface for experienced users. Touchscreens are excellent for their flexibility but have serious drawbacks when used over a long period of time, when precision is paramount, or when there is a large space of inputs.

What's really needed is more or less the same physical input layout but with a larger, high-resolution screen. I would think the market in the US is sufficiently large that even if TI doesn't see the need to produce newer, cheaper and improved models, there's space for another player, say from China, to produce a better product.