diff --git a/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.css b/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.css
index b62dd75..41db7f9 100644
--- a/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.css
+++ b/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.css
@@ -67,12 +67,3 @@
     transform: rotate(1turn);
   }
 }
-
-/* we do not want the button to show on smaller screens (phones), as clicking
- * can download a lot of data. 480px is a commonly used breakpoint to identify if a device is a smartphone.  */
-
-@media (max-width: 480px), (max-height: 480px) {
-  div.try_examples_button_container {
-    display: none;
-  }
-}
diff --git a/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.js b/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.js
index 4ae8c96..aa537e4 100644
--- a/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.js
+++ b/jupyterlite_sphinx/jupyterlite_sphinx.js
@@ -149,55 +149,153 @@ var tryExamplesGlobalMinHeight = 0;
  */
 var tryExamplesConfigLoaded = false;
 
-window.loadTryExamplesConfig = async (configFilePath) => {
-  if (tryExamplesConfigLoaded) {
-    return;
+// This function is used to check if the current device is a mobile device.
+// We assume the authenticity of the user agent string is enough to
+// determine that, and we also check the window size as a fallback.
+window.isMobileDevice = () => {
+  const mobilePatterns = [
+    /Android/i,
+    /webOS/i,
+    /iPhone/i,
+    /iPad/i,
+    /iPod/i,
+    /BlackBerry/i,
+    /IEMobile/i,
+    /Windows Phone/i,
+    /Opera Mini/i,
+    /SamsungBrowser/i,
+    /UC.*Browser|UCWEB/i,
+    /MiuiBrowser/i,
+    /Mobile/i,
+    /Tablet/i,
+  ];
+
+  const isMobileByUA = mobilePatterns.some((pattern) =>
+    pattern.test(navigator.userAgent),
+  );
+  const isMobileBySize = window.innerWidth <= 480 || window.innerHeight <= 480;
+  const isLikelyMobile = isMobileByUA || isMobileBySize;
+
+  if (isLikelyMobile) {
+    console.log(
+      "Mobile device detected, disabling interactive example buttons to conserve bandwidth.",
+    );
   }
-  try {
-    // Add a timestamp as query parameter to ensure a cached version of the
-    // file is not used.
-    const timestamp = new Date().getTime();
-    const configFileUrl = `${configFilePath}?cb=${timestamp}`;
-    const currentPageUrl = window.location.pathname;
-
-    const response = await fetch(configFileUrl);
-    if (!response.ok) {
-      if (response.status === 404) {
-        // Try examples ignore file is not present.
-        console.log("Optional try_examples config file not found.");
-        return;
+
+  return isLikelyMobile;
+};
+
+// A config loader with request deduplication + permanent caching
+const ConfigLoader = (() => {
+  let configLoadPromise = null;
+
+  const loadConfig = async (configFilePath) => {
+    if (window.isMobileDevice()) {
+      const buttons = document.getElementsByClassName("try_examples_button");
+      for (let i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
+        buttons[i].classList.add("hidden");
       }
-      throw new Error(`Error fetching ${configFilePath}`);
+      tryExamplesConfigLoaded = true; // mock it
+      return;
     }
 
-    const data = await response.json();
-    if (!data) {
+    if (tryExamplesConfigLoaded) {
       return;
     }
 
-    // Set minimum iframe height based on value in config file
-    if (data.global_min_height) {
-      tryExamplesGlobalMinHeight = parseInt(data.global_min_height);
+    // Return the existing promise if the request is in progress, as we
+    // don't want to make multiple requests for the same file. This
+    // can happen if there are several try_examples directives on the
+    // same page.
+    if (configLoadPromise) {
+      return configLoadPromise;
     }
 
-    // Disable interactive examples if file matches one of the ignore patterns
-    // by hiding try_examples_buttons.
-    Patterns = data.ignore_patterns;
-    for (let pattern of Patterns) {
-      let regex = new RegExp(pattern);
-      if (regex.test(currentPageUrl)) {
-        var buttons = document.getElementsByClassName("try_examples_button");
-        for (var i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
-          buttons[i].classList.add("hidden");
+    // Create and cache the promise for the config request
+    configLoadPromise = (async () => {
+      try {
+        // Add a timestamp as query parameter to ensure a cached version of the
+        // file is not used.
+        const timestamp = new Date().getTime();
+        const configFileUrl = `${configFilePath}?cb=${timestamp}`;
+        const currentPageUrl = window.location.pathname;
+
+        const response = await fetch(configFileUrl);
+        if (!response.ok) {
+          if (response.status === 404) {
+            console.log("Optional try_examples config file not found.");
+            return;
+          }
+          throw new Error(`Error fetching ${configFilePath}`);
+        }
+
+        const data = await response.json();
+        if (!data) {
+          return;
+        }
+
+        // Set minimum iframe height based on value in config file
+        if (data.global_min_height) {
+          tryExamplesGlobalMinHeight = parseInt(data.global_min_height);
+        }
+
+        // Disable interactive examples if file matches one of the ignore patterns
+        // by hiding try_examples_buttons.
+        Patterns = data.ignore_patterns;
+        for (let pattern of Patterns) {
+          let regex = new RegExp(pattern);
+          if (regex.test(currentPageUrl)) {
+            var buttons = document.getElementsByClassName(
+              "try_examples_button",
+            );
+            for (var i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
+              buttons[i].classList.add("hidden");
+            }
+            break;
+          }
         }
-        break;
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error(error);
+      } finally {
+        tryExamplesConfigLoaded = true;
+      }
+    })();
+
+    return configLoadPromise;
+  };
+
+  return {
+    loadConfig,
+    // for testing/debugging only, could be removed
+    resetState: () => {
+      tryExamplesConfigLoaded = false;
+      configLoadPromise = null;
+    },
+  };
+})();
+
+// Add a resize handler that will update the buttons' visibility on
+// orientation changes
+let resizeTimeout;
+window.addEventListener("resize", () => {
+  clearTimeout(resizeTimeout);
+  resizeTimeout = setTimeout(() => {
+    if (!tryExamplesConfigLoaded) return; // since we won't interfere if the config isn't loaded
+
+    const buttons = document.getElementsByClassName("try_examples_button");
+    const shouldHide = window.isMobileDevice();
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
+      if (shouldHide) {
+        buttons[i].classList.add("hidden");
+      } else {
+        buttons[i].classList.remove("hidden");
       }
     }
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error);
-  }
-  tryExamplesConfigLoaded = true;
-};
+  }, 250);
+});
+
+window.loadTryExamplesConfig = ConfigLoader.loadConfig;
 
 window.toggleTryExamplesButtons = () => {
   /* Toggle visibility of TryExamples buttons. For use in console for debug