How Talkey Schedules Flashcard Reviews
Understand the real differences between FSRS, SM-2, SM-2 Enhanced, Leitner, and Simple scheduling.
1. What Spaced Repetition Does
Spaced repetition delays a successful card and brings a difficult card back sooner. Talkey stores the result of every rated review—including its time, interval, and rating—so the selected algorithm can calculate the next due date.
Scheduling is per deck. A folder can contain decks with different algorithms, and a folder study session still applies each card’s own deck algorithm.
Due cards, not every card
Normal study sessions include new cards and cards whose next review time has arrived. Retaining cards that are not due stay out of the queue.
2. Your Four Ratings Drive the Schedule
Talkey previews the next interval below each rating before you choose it. These previews use the current card state, the current time, and the deck’s selected algorithm.
| Rating | Scheduling effect |
|---|---|
| Forgot (1) | Records a lapse and moves the card into a short relearning interval. |
| Hard (2) | Keeps growth conservative and can reduce the card’s ease or stability. |
| Good (3) | Applies the algorithm’s normal successful-review interval. |
| Easy (4) | Applies the largest successful-review interval. |
3. Compare the Algorithms
| Algorithm | How it works | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| FSRS | Models memory difficulty, stability, and retrievability. Talkey uses shared FSRS-6 state on iOS and web. | Long-term study with a modern, retention-focused scheduler. |
| SM-2 | Uses an ease factor and review quality to grow intervals, with short learning steps for new cards. | A balanced, understandable default. |
| SM-2 Enhanced | Adds explicit lapse handling plus Hard and Easy interval multipliers to SM-2. | Language decks where failed cards need a gentler return. |
| Leitner | Moves successful cards through boxes with intervals from minutes to months; failures return to the first box. | A transparent, predictable box system. |
| Simple | Grows intervals exponentially after success and resets after failure. | A lightweight schedule with minimal state; currently selectable on the web. |
What is actually available
The web deck controls expose all five algorithms. The current iOS algorithm picker exposes FSRS, SM-2, SM-2 Enhanced, and Leitner. Existing Simple decks remain supported by the shared scheduling engine.
4. Learning, Review, and Relearning
A brand-new card begins in learning. SM-2 and SM-2 Enhanced use short default steps of about 1 minute, 10 minutes, and 1 hour before longer intervals. FSRS also begins with short Again, Hard, and Good choices, while Easy can move a new card to a later day.
After successful repetitions, a card enters review. If you later choose Forgot, it enters relearning. Talkey keeps this phase and the current step with the synced card so the schedule can continue on another device.
5. Choose or Change an Algorithm
- 1On the web, choose an algorithm while creating a deck or open an existing deck and use its Algorithm control.
- 2On iOS, open the deck → Settings → Study → Spaced repetition, then choose one of the available models.
- 3Continue studying normally. The selected model is used when the next card is rated; changing it does not delete the card text or review history.
No retention slider in the current UI
Talkey’s current user-facing controls let you choose the deck algorithm. The Help Center does not promise a desired-retention or maximum-interval control because those values are not exposed as normal account settings.
6. Practical Recommendations
- Start with SM-2 if you want the default and do not yet have a scheduling preference.
- Choose FSRS for a large, long-lived deck where memory-state modeling is useful.
- Choose SM-2 Enhanced when you want explicit lapse steps after forgotten language cards.
- Choose Leitner when visible box progression is easier for you to understand.
- Do not switch repeatedly to chase shorter or longer intervals; consistent, honest ratings are more important.
- If reviews pile up, study the Review and Stale buckets first, then add new cards.
7. Cross-Device Scheduling
Talkey’s web and iOS implementations share deck technique names, rating values, review history, due dates, and FSRS memory state. A review saved on one platform can therefore continue the same card schedule on another.
- Use the same account on every device.
- Let a study session save before closing the tab or app.
- If due counts disagree, use Settings → App & Data → Sync Now on the web and reopen the deck.