I’m thinking about learning with Anki, but I don’t want to use the desktop version! Is the iOS version an alternative? Can I work with it just as well and do I have the same options as with the desktop version?
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There are certainly users who only have AnkiMobile, and the iOS app includes almost all the functionality of the desktop app.
The things that you’ll be missing mostly have to do with advanced note-type management. There are also some things that are harder to do in AnkiMobile, especially if you don’t have an external keyboard, mouse, large screen. It’s just part of the nature of mobile apps (single window), and of the iOS approach to menus. But nothing vital is missing, and the difference in features will rarely be noticeable when you are studying. The manual will make it clear if something needs to be done on desktop instead. [There are also a few extra features in AnkiMobile that desktop Anki doesn’t have built-in.]
If you’re not familiar with Anki at all, I suspect it will be more challenging to learn how to use it. But again, there are folks who manage just fine with AnkiMobile alone, so it’s not impossible.
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Thanks for your reply! Is there an overview somewhere of what one can do and the other can’t? I don’t have much opportunity to use Anki on my desktop!
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There isn’t a checklist of differences, no. You’ll see them mentioned in the manuals as things you can do on one app versus another. This is one of those things where it’s easier to answer about specific features than to detail every single difference.
But the sort of things I’m talking about are fairly rare to need. If you even just have access to a computer with desktop Anki, that will have you covered every once in a blue moon when you need to do one of those things.
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Using the desktop version will speed things up considerably and comes with advanced possibility regarding notetype management, card design and data management in general.
I wouldn’t want to work without a desktop client and you should ask yourself if you shouldn’t explore it before limiting yourself at the beginning of your Anki usage.
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Hi, I am also an AnkiMobile only user. It’s definitely doable. Only thing I miss is creating, renaming and deleting notetypes. So I set those up on a borrowed laptop once. But these functions are not needed if you want to stick to the default Notetypes. Good luck.
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