It seems like it can tick many of the boxes for effective long term learning if used properly (including not just surface learning but also deep conceptual understanding). However, my impression is that there is a learning curve and a cost associated to using it consistently, which leads to it not being used as much. Idk. What’s your experience?
This is really why a lot of people I’ve talked about this are adamant about never missing a day of Anki reviews. Far more than keeping the streak going (which is a nice ego boost), avoiding this backlog of reviews is why you shouldn’t miss a day of reviews.
But even without missing a day, you might still face an ever increasing amount of reviews, which in my personal experience, has put people off Anki—people who I managed to convinced to give it a try.