June 6, 2026: I Love My XTEink X4

Last month, I succumbed to the tiny e-reader hype I'd been seeing online and ordered an XTEink X4. I've been holding out on writing a review of it until I'd been using it for a few weeks, but since it arrived on 5/3 (and I'm writing this on 5/26), that time has now come.

The first thing I did when I got the device was install the CrossPoint Reader OS. This was a mildly frustrating process because my USB connection kept dropping off, but switching devices/browsers eventually paid off and I was able to get it flashed. Once I got the connection issues fixed, this was by far the easiest firmware flash process I've ever done – the tool is entirely browser based, and very fast!

So why is this different from any other e-reader?

For one thing, it's tiny. The device has a built-in magnet, and it came with a couple adhesive magnetic rings to attach it to stuff. I put one on the back of my phone case, and I've had my books basically everywhere I've taken my phone. And because it's conveniently hand-sized, I've been slowly retraining the muscle memory of fidgeting on my phone to pulling out a book to read.

Pack of playing cards and Car Wars miniature for scale.

My favorite thing about it is the battery life. It's insane. I've read a bunch this month, and I haven't charged the X4 since the day it arrived. Now, that battery life does come at the cost of a few features that other devices offer, most notably the lack of a backlight. There's no touch screen; the navigation is entirely button-based (which is perfect for me, though I've heard other users find them a little unintuitive). I've also been using it entirely offline, which I'm sure has helped with the battery life, but does mean I can't speak to the device's online features. I've been transferring ebooks from my Calibre library via the microSD card and that's worked perfectly for me.

The biggest downside by far is that you can't use Overdrive/Libby, but I've had decent luck buying DRM-free books, and Calibre can convert other ebook formats to epub pretty easily. 

I haven't read this much in ages, and I hugely appreciate the X4 for tearing me away from my phone when I'm bored. If you're in the market for an e-reader, hate DRM and feature creep, and don't mind tinkering with your devices, I really recommend trying it out!

-- Irene Zielinski