This tiny pocket-friendly e-reader is packed with frustration and potential

I’ve utilized and reviewed dozens of e-readers complete the years, but the 5-inch Kobo Mini remains my favourite for 1 elemental reason: It was small. While it lacked useful features for illustration surface lighting and page move buttons, its size made it an e-reader I really wanted to transportation each day. The $69 Xteink X4 e-reader is moreover smaller than the Kobo Mini and E Ink smartphones for illustration Boox Palma. It’s satisfyingly pocketable but besides frustratingly unintuitive and functionally constricted retired of the box. That could beryllium a deal-breaker were it not for a growing organization of users moving to amended it.

Like the Kodak Charmera, I was pleasantly amazed astatine really mini the X4 is successful person. Its 4.3-inch E Ink surface is only a spot tinier than the Kobo Mini’s 5-inch panel, but the X4’s bezels are overmuch slimmer, making the e-reader consciousness importantly smaller. The joyousness of nerding retired complete the X4’s size was quickly trim short erstwhile I tested 1 of its astir compelling features.

When the X4 was announced past December, Xteink shared photos of the e-reader stuck to the backmost of an iPhone utilizing its MagSafe feature. It made the X4 look for illustration a amended replacement to e-reader cases for those wanting a 2nd surface connected their phones, but the overseas position of its magnets makes it intolerable to instrumentality the e-reader to the backmost of my iPhone 16 Pro successful immoderate usable way.

It’s an rumor that many X4 users person complained about, and successful a connection emailed to The Verge, the institution explains that “during our early improvement and testing phase, we worked pinch a constricted scope of iPhone models. As a result, connected immoderate newer models, the magnetic alignment whitethorn not look perfectly centered.” As a work-around, Xteink includes a brace of magnetic adhesive rings that tin beryllium stuck to devices to let for due alignment.

However, the X4 besides extends past the bottommost of my iPhone, truthful alternatively of trying to awkwardly usage the 2 together, I’ve been utilizing it arsenic a standalone ultra-compact e-reader. At little than 6mm thick, the X4 takes up very small room successful the sling container I transportation each day and is protected utilizing a basal magnetic folio-style lawsuit that’s included.

The Xteink X4 is 1 of the cheapest e-readers connected the market, but that value comes pinch immoderate challenges and compromises, including a 4.3-inch E Ink surface pinch a 220ppi resolution. That’s little than the 300ppi e-paper screens connected the latest Kindle and Kobo e-readers. You’ll spot jagged edges connected good matter if you look difficult enough, but it’s capable solution for a pleasant reference experience.

There’s besides nary surface lighting, truthful if you’re readying to publication earlier bed, you’ll request a lamp aliases a flashlight. The deficiency of a touchscreen is much frustrating. The X4 features respective buttons connected its correct separator and beneath its display. They’re not labeled, and their functionality varies depending connected wherever you are successful the UI.

Further complicating matters, 3 of the buttons are two-sided and do different things depending connected which broadside you press. It’s frustrating to effort and retrieve which broadside of which fastener you request to property to make a selection, jump backmost to a erstwhile screen, aliases simply navigate a database of options. And it’s not helped by the X4’s constricted and confusing software.

While Boox’s smartphone-size E Ink Palma devices tally Android and fto you do everything from watching videos to playing games, the X4 is solely focused connected reading, pinch support constricted to TXT and EPUB files, positive images for illustration JPGs and BMPs, which I had constricted occurrence loading. There’s nary built-in bookstore truthful you’ll request to root your ain DRM-free EPUB files. That’s a small easier now, acknowledgment to Amazon precocious expanding support for EPUBs, but conscionable getting ebooks onto the X4 feels harder than it could be.

The e-reader doesn’t equine arsenic a retention instrumentality erstwhile connected to a computer, and while you’re expected to beryllium capable to wirelessly upload files from a browser complete Wi-Fi aliases your phone, I didn’t person overmuch occurrence successful getting that to work. The easiest measurement is to transcript files to a representation paper utilizing a USB reader, but that is needlessly analyzable by the X4’s microSD paper slot that makes inserting and ejecting a representation paper difficult without agelong nails aliases a insubstantial clip.

Reading ebooks is an okay experience, and I’m ever a instrumentality of dedicated page move buttons. But if you’re acquainted pinch a Kobo aliases Kindle, you’ll find yourself sorely missing options for adjusting matter formatting. You only get 2 font-size choices, 3 statement spacing options, and nary measurement to summation the margins astir text. Images and illustrations successful ebooks are simply not displayed, astir matter formatting is ignored, and while you’re expected to beryllium capable to load and usage your ain font files, it’s different finicky characteristic I had nary occurrence with.

You tin jump to different chapters, pages, and bookmarks, aliases move connected features for illustration car page turns astatine group intervals, but doing truthful requires opening and navigating a bid of menus utilizing the X4’s buttons. It feels unnecessarily complicated. It’s an acquisition you’ll yet get marginally comfortable with, but not 1 you’ll ever enjoy.

Xteink has already released respective package updates improving the X4’s UI and usability. Progress has been slow, but because the institution hasn’t locked down the e-reader, a increasing organization has taken it upon itself to amended the X4. Installing CrossPoint Reader connected the X4, an open-source replacement firmware, was a elemental process that instantly solved galore of the symptom points of Xteink’s software. CrossPoint simplifies the X4’s UI, expands the options for really ebooks look, and adds onscreen labels for what each fastener does. It’s besides easy to uninstall, but I don’t deliberation I’m ever going to.

The X4 will ne'er switch the Kobo Libra 2 I usage for astir of my reading. A touchscreen, lighting, entree to a robust ebook store, and a UI that doesn’t person maine pulling my hairsbreadth retired are features I can’t do without. But complete the past fewer weeks, I haven’t near the location without the mini X4. It’s a invited replacement to my telephone (that ever seems afloat of bad news) if I person a fewer minutes to while away, contempt its frustrations. I don’t for illustration recommending devices that require third-party upgrades to beryllium “fixed,” but the activity being done by the X4 organization makes the e-reader worthy considering if pocketability — and a small tinkering — is your priority.

Photos by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge