Xteink X4 E-Reader

I love reading and have always been an avid reader, but have had an emotional journey with the venues from which I read. In middle school, I was stuck with the only option available to me at the time which was physical books from the library. In high school, my boyfriend at the time got me a Nook from Barnes and Noble. In college, I bought myself an Onyx Boox Poke 3. Most recently, I have deferred to reading on my phone.

Each option has it's pros and cons, but generally I prefer e-readers, which has led me to get the Xteink X4. After spending some time with this little device, here are my impressions!

So, I already hinted at this, but the X4 is tiny AND I LOVE THAT! Sorry not sorry, I LOVE tiny things and this E-reader is freakin adorable in it's smallness. Funny enough, the small nature of X4 doesn't detract from the reading experience. I was afraid that the small screen was going to make it hard to read on, but that is just not the case. It is a very pleasant reading experience in regards to the screen size. I think any smaller would make it an issue which is why I didn't wait for the X3 that is coming out soon.

There are some features native to the X4 to change the text on the fly (namely making the font slightly larger or slightly less large), but if you really want to customize the text you are going to have to use a converter on the computer. This brings about my next point, which is a hang up that could give some people pause about the X4. You have to load the books from your computer then add them to the included SD card in order to get books on your X4. I say 'hang up' rather than negative because for me it is just a small snag that adds a few steps to my reading experience, but I could understand how some less computer savvy people would find this to be a negative. The books also have to be in a specific format (EPUB or XTC), which can be a bit annoying if you have a bunch of books as PDFs or MOBIs. Although, I will say that finding a converter is super easy and can add to the personalization of your books (font, margin spaces, etc.) so take it as you will. This is my personal favorite: https://x4converter.rho.sh/

Another huge positive is that this device has a large online support system, namely a booming subreddit. This makes it really easy to look up stuff that might be challenging to figure out on your own and get really involved in the mechanics of the device if that's your cup of tea. It's not mine, I tried to install Crosspoint (a user made operating system) but couldn't get it to work. I was hesitant about it anyway so I took it as a sign from the universe to quit while I was ahead 😅

As I mentioned, it also does come with an SD card, a magsafe ring adapter, and a screen protector. That's a nice little touch because I could definitely see a company skimping out on extras to save some money, but I was pleasantly surprised that is not the case. The X4 is pretty cheap as far as e-readers go and in a world where we are getting less and less from the companies that we buy stuff from (looking at you Apple 🙄) I'm impressed that Xteink breaks that mold!

Now, I mentioned a magsafe ring. This is because, on much of the advertisement, the X4 is shown stuck to the back of a phone. I find this to be an interesting idea and definitely something that drew me to the X4. What better way to stop being on your phone than to literally have an e-reader attached to it? At least that was my thought. Well it didn't work out that simple. For context, I have an S22 Ultra, so no native magsafe ring but that shouldn't be a problem because the X4 came with one! Perfection right?

Not so fast! Let's take a bit of detour. A lot of people note online that the X4 is pretty delicate, especially the screen. Luckily Xteink comes with a screen protector and offers a cover that you can buy, which I did. We will talk about the screen protector later. For the cover, I like it. I got the black one and it's pretty simple, also relying on the magsafe feature to easily attach to the X4, covering the charging port so it is protected. Here's the rub, by using the case you can't use the magsafe ring on the phone 😑 this is pretty disappointing because I don't want to run around without a cover but I was looking forward to using the magsafe feature. I chose the protection versus the neat feature, but still dang 😖

Okay so back to screen protector. It's not awesome to install, no matter how hard I tried there was still bubbles under it. I didn't buy any extras so I'm not taking it off, but it's annoying to see the bubbles every time I turn it on. Another ding for the X4 accessories.

On to the ordering process! I ordered it the week before Christmas with the listing indicating it would start shipping on 12/24. It shipped on 12/26 and got delivered on 12/29. I was shocked at how quickly this thing got to me, which was a huge plus!

Overall, I would definitely recommend the X4. I really love it, I loved it out of the box and have fallen more in love as I use it. It easily fits in a pocket and has increased my reading 100%! It's a good value for the cost as well as the booming community to discuss various aspects of its functioning is a wonderful bonus. I hope the accessories improve over time, but they are by no means a deal breaker. What is your preferred ereader? Might you consider switching to the X4? Let me know down below in the comments!