diff --git a/bun.lock b/bun.lock
index a41ce38..19006fd 100644
--- a/bun.lock
+++ b/bun.lock
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
         "react": "19.2.3",
         "react-dom": "19.2.3",
         "react-native": "0.85.3",
+        "react-native-audio-api": "0.12.2",
         "react-native-gesture-handler": "~2.31.1",
         "react-native-reanimated": "4.3.1",
         "react-native-safe-area-context": "~5.7.0",
@@ -1450,6 +1451,8 @@
 
     "react-native": ["react-native@0.85.3", "", { "dependencies": { "@react-native/assets-registry": "0.85.3", "@react-native/codegen": "0.85.3", "@react-native/community-cli-plugin": "0.85.3", "@react-native/gradle-plugin": "0.85.3", "@react-native/js-polyfills": "0.85.3", "@react-native/normalize-colors": "0.85.3", "@react-native/virtualized-lists": "0.85.3", "abort-controller": "^3.0.0", "anser": "^1.4.9", "ansi-regex": "^5.0.0", "babel-plugin-syntax-hermes-parser": "0.33.3", "base64-js": "^1.5.1", "commander": "^12.0.0", "flow-enums-runtime": "^0.0.6", "hermes-compiler": "250829098.0.10", "invariant": "^2.2.4", "memoize-one": "^5.0.0", "metro-runtime": "^0.84.3", "metro-source-map": "^0.84.3", "nullthrows": "^1.1.1", "pretty-format": "^29.7.0", "promise": "^8.3.0", "react-devtools-core": "^6.1.5", "react-refresh": "^0.14.0", "regenerator-runtime": "^0.13.2", "scheduler": "0.27.0", "semver": "^7.1.3", "stacktrace-parser": "^0.1.10", "tinyglobby": "^0.2.15", "whatwg-fetch": "^3.0.0", "ws": "^7.5.10", "yargs": "^17.6.2" }, "peerDependencies": { "@react-native/jest-preset": "0.85.3", "@types/react": "^19.1.1", "react": "^19.2.3" }, "optionalPeers": ["@react-native/jest-preset", "@types/react"], "bin": { "react-native": "cli.js" } }, "sha512-HN/fGC+3nZVcDNcw7gfbM/DuqZAvI9Mz+/SxuhODaua4JY0BPzhfTzWXRyTR4mRgMHmShTPpH2PYMTxvZrsdZA=="],
 
+    "react-native-audio-api": ["react-native-audio-api@0.12.2", "", { "dependencies": { "semver": "^7.7.3" }, "peerDependencies": { "react": "*", "react-native": "*", "react-native-worklets": ">= 0.6.0" }, "optionalPeers": ["react-native-worklets"], "bin": { "setup-rn-audio-api-web": "scripts/setup-rn-audio-api-web.js" } }, "sha512-OizgzmolTzCwgMlNv8eyRTh888up6mmS158O1+h9M8dHE4dTSZjjT0622zDJ+Z58trEyYHRcOJP9evBMTzm4UQ=="],
+
     "react-native-drawer-layout": ["react-native-drawer-layout@4.2.5", "", { "dependencies": { "color": "^4.2.3", "use-latest-callback": "^0.2.4" }, "peerDependencies": { "react": ">= 18.2.0", "react-native": "*", "react-native-gesture-handler": ">= 2.0.0", "react-native-reanimated": ">= 2.0.0" } }, "sha512-Yl82uLkXjXuq7222hWGIDsq5A6R/bsCeCEgdIxQUxAEHf00oRdDnRByLx3Fsij3qwtmYNPGrHV1NH8G8hbCbLQ=="],
 
     "react-native-gesture-handler": ["react-native-gesture-handler@2.31.2", "", { "dependencies": { "@egjs/hammerjs": "^2.0.17", "@types/react-test-renderer": "^19.1.0", "hoist-non-react-statics": "^3.3.0", "invariant": "^2.2.4" }, "peerDependencies": { "react": "*", "react-native": "*" } }, "sha512-rw5q74i2AfS7YGYdbxQDhOU7xqgY6WRM1132/CCm3erqjblhECZDZFHIm0tteHoC9ih24wogVBVVzcTBQtZ+5A=="],
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 5473697..1b8097a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
     "react": "19.2.3",
     "react-dom": "19.2.3",
     "react-native": "0.85.3",
+    "react-native-audio-api": "0.12.2",
     "react-native-gesture-handler": "~2.31.1",
     "react-native-reanimated": "4.3.1",
     "react-native-safe-area-context": "~5.7.0",
diff --git a/src/lib/audio/decode.native.ts b/src/lib/audio/decode.native.ts
index 590a664..e4f4bd5 100644
--- a/src/lib/audio/decode.native.ts
+++ b/src/lib/audio/decode.native.ts
@@ -1,24 +1,27 @@
 // Native (iOS/Android) audio decoder.
 //
-// Unlike the web, React Native has no built-in media decoder we can rely on.
-// `ffmpeg-kit-react-native` — the package everyone used to reach for — was
-// RETIRED by its maintainer in early 2025, so we deliberately do NOT depend on
-// it. For now we support only WAV, which we can decode in pure JS via our own
-// `decodeWav`. Everything else throws a clear, actionable error.
+// WAV is decoded in pure JS (`decodeWav`) — fast and dependency-free. Every
+// other container/codec (m4a/aac, mp3, ogg/opus, flac, …) is decoded by
+// `react-native-audio-api`, which uses the platform codecs (Android MediaCodec /
+// iOS AVFoundation, with a bundled FFmpeg fallback). This mirrors the web
+// decoder's `AudioContext.decodeAudioData` path. Decoding is fully on-device —
+// the audio bytes never leave the phone.
 //
-// TODO(audio/native): add a maintained native decoder for compressed formats
-//   (mp3/m4a/aac/ogg/flac). The current front-runner is
-//   `react-native-audio-api` (a Web-Audio-style API for RN). When added, route
-//   non-WAV URIs through it and downmix/resample with `toMono16k`, mirroring the
-//   web path.
+// Why this matters on native: in-app recording is web-only, so importing a file
+// from the phone's own recorder is the ONLY way to get audio in — and those are
+// almost always m4a/aac. (Previously native accepted WAV only.)
+//
+// We hand react-native-audio-api the raw file BYTES (ArrayBuffer), not a URI, so
+// we don't depend on how the OS file picker spells the path (file:// vs
+// content://) — `readFileBytes` already reads either via Expo's File API.
 //
 // File reading uses Expo SDK 56's object-oriented `File` API
 // (`new File(uri).bytes()`), which returns the raw bytes as a `Uint8Array`
-// directly — no base64 round-trip needed. We still keep a base64 decode helper
-// below as a documented fallback for environments/URIs where `.bytes()` isn't
-// available (it reads via `.base64()` and decodes to a Uint8Array by hand).
+// directly — no base64 round-trip needed. We keep a base64 fallback for
+// environments/URIs where `.bytes()` isn't available.
 
 import { File } from 'expo-file-system';
+import { decodeAudioData } from 'react-native-audio-api';
 
 import type { AudioDecoder, AudioFileInput } from './decode';
 import type { PcmAudio } from '../types';
@@ -90,6 +93,25 @@ async function readFileBytes(uri: string): Promise<Uint8Array> {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * True if these bytes are a RIFF/WAVE container. Sniffing the content (rather
+ * than trusting the file extension) lets us take the fast pure-JS WAV path even
+ * for mislabeled files, and avoids handing WAV to the heavier native decoder.
+ */
+function isWavBytes(b: Uint8Array): boolean {
+  return (
+    b.length >= 12 &&
+    b[0] === 0x52 && // 'R'
+    b[1] === 0x49 && // 'I'
+    b[2] === 0x46 && // 'F'
+    b[3] === 0x46 && // 'F'
+    b[8] === 0x57 && // 'W'
+    b[9] === 0x41 && // 'A'
+    b[10] === 0x56 && // 'V'
+    b[11] === 0x45 // 'E'
+  );
+}
+
 export const decoder: AudioDecoder = {
   async decode(input: AudioFileInput): Promise<PcmAudio> {
     const { uri } = input;
@@ -97,22 +119,37 @@ export const decoder: AudioDecoder = {
       throw new Error('Native decoder requires a file `uri`.');
     }
 
-    // Sniff the container from the URI extension (case-insensitive), ignoring
-    // any query string / fragment that content URIs sometimes carry.
-    const path = uri.split(/[?#]/, 1)[0] ?? uri;
-    const isWav = path.toLowerCase().endsWith('.wav');
+    const bytes = await readFileBytes(uri);
 
-    if (!isWav) {
+    // Fast path: WAV is decoded in pure JS (no native call).
+    if (isWavBytes(bytes)) {
+      const { sampleRate, channelData } = decodeWav(bytes);
+      return { sampleRate: 16000, samples: toMono16k(channelData, sampleRate) };
+    }
+
+    // Everything else (m4a/aac, mp3, ogg/opus, flac, …) -> platform codecs via
+    // react-native-audio-api. A fresh, contiguous ArrayBuffer of exactly the
+    // file bytes is what `decodeAudioData` expects.
+    const arrayBuffer = new Uint8Array(bytes).buffer as ArrayBuffer;
+    let audioBuffer;
+    try {
+      audioBuffer = await decodeAudioData(arrayBuffer);
+    } catch (e) {
+      const detail = e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e);
       throw new Error(
-        'Only WAV is supported on native for now — ffmpeg-kit-react-native ' +
-          'was retired in 2025; a maintained native decoder (e.g. ' +
-          'react-native-audio-api) is a follow-up.',
+        `Couldn't decode this audio on device (${detail}). Supported formats: ` +
+          'WAV, m4a/aac, mp3, ogg, flac. If it keeps failing, convert it to ' +
+          'WAV and import again.',
       );
     }
 
-    const bytes = await readFileBytes(uri);
-    const { sampleRate, channelData } = decodeWav(bytes);
-    const samples = toMono16k(channelData, sampleRate);
-    return { sampleRate: 16000, samples };
+    const channelData: Float32Array[] = Array.from(
+      { length: audioBuffer.numberOfChannels },
+      (_unused, c) => audioBuffer.getChannelData(c),
+    );
+    return {
+      sampleRate: 16000,
+      samples: toMono16k(channelData, audioBuffer.sampleRate),
+    };
   },
 };