The Approximate Number System account assumes an imprecise mechanism behind the precise symbolic number comparison. This leads to various contradictions in the model. Read more about it at osf.io/6m4zw.
The SNARC effect may work only with symbolic numbers. It seems to work with nonsymbolic numbers when the task requires symbolic responses, such as "smaller"-"larger", but not without them. doi.org/10.1037/xhp0... or www.thenumberworks.org/discrete_sem...