Sluggish Audio Loading on AnkiMobile with Large Media Collection

[Jun]

Hi everyone,
I’m encountering a persistent issue with AnkiMobile on iPad and wondering if anyone else has run into the same thing—or discovered a fix.

My setup includes around 20,000 image files and 10,000 audio files. On AnkiMobile (iPadOS 18.5, latest app version), images load instantly, but audio playback consistently lags by several seconds. It’s become quite frustrating, especially since the delay seems to increase as my media collection grows.

Oddly, on Windows, macOS, and the web version, the same decks and files load instantly—so the issue appears specific to the mobile app.

Has anyone found a workaround or tweak that improves audio loading performance on AnkiMobile? I’d really appreciate any ideas, tips, or insights.

Thanks in advance!

[dae]

Are you using bluetooth speaker/headphones, or attempting to play directly from the device?

[Jun]

I’m experiencing consistent playback delays regardless of whether Bluetooth earphones or the iPad’s built-in speaker.
I suspect that the following HTML code may be contributing to the issue.

<audio controls>
	<source src={{Sentence Audio}} type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>

I specify a filename (e.g., filename.mp3) in the Sentence Audio field.
When the field is formatted as [sound:filename.mp3], the audio loads significantly faster.

While the <audio> tag can offers standard playback controls, Anki’s native [sound:...] syntax appears to deliver better performance—especially when working with large media collections.

What are the best practices if I choose to continue using the <audio> tag?

[dae]

I’ve checked the code on AnkiMobile’s end, and don’t see any actions that would cause a slowdown as the media folder grew larger. That unfortunately points to this being an issue with iOS’s webview. If you have some audio playing in the background while studying, do you still observe the playback delay? Please also download the 25.07 update from the app store and see if that helps at all.