The Xteink X4 Pro could be the little e-reader of your dreams

Extinc Little e-readers He owns It went viral Among book lovers on social media, and for good reason: What could be more fun than an e-reader that can fit in your wallet? Xteink has the answer. The Chinese device manufacturer has now improved its existing e-readers with Extinc X4 Proquickly responded to widespread feedback from users who really wanted a touch screen and front lighting.

If you haven’t watched Xteink Existing X3 And the Ideally, having this device on hand will help you read a few pages of a book instead of scrolling through Instagram while you wait in line at the store. Although the X3 and However, the idea of ​​a magnetic e-reader that could fit in a pocket was so promising that I couldn’t wait to see what Xteink would do next.

Fortunately, the wait for repair was not long. The addition of a touchscreen and front lighting makes the Xteink X4 Pro more viable as a device you can use as your main e-reader, rather than just an on-the-go companion for your Kindle. At 72g and 5.95mm thick, the X4 Pro is about the same size as the X4.

Every night before I go to bed, I turn off the lights and read on my Kindle until I feel sleepy enough to close my eyes. But with the additional front light, the X4 Pro ingrained itself firmly into my nighttime routine — during the review period, I read almost exclusively on the I’ve since gone back to my Kindle only because I’m rereading The Odyssey, and let’s face it, it would be pretty annoying to read poetry with line breaks on a 4.26-inch screen.

When I read with the X4 Pro before bed, I feel like I’m imitating an old bad habit Scrolling in bed. You can interpret this as a good or bad thing. On the one hand, this shows how comfortable and easy it feels to read on the X4 Pro – you can turn pages either by tapping on the side of the screen or using the side buttons, giving you more flexibility in how you want to hold the X4 Pro. But also, like a phone, an e-reader is so small that you have to hold it closer to your face to read than with a Kindle. I’m concerned that this might affect my sleep, although it’s still much easier to fall asleep after looking at a dimly lit e-ink screen than on an iPhone.

Like other e-Ink devices, the Naturally, the light means the battery will drain a bit more quickly than its predecessors, but I barely notice the difference. However, what people will notice is that the X4 Pro charges using a magnetic pogo charger, while the X4 has a USB-C port. This isn’t a big deal for me, since the device has to be charged infrequently, but if you’re really excited about the universality of USB-C, this could be a deal breaker.

The X4 Pro also comes with updated software, which is a major upgrade over previous models, but the device will also continue to allow users to upload open source code. The process of uploading content over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is doable, although still a bit complicated – I find it easier to remove the micro SD card and use the provided micro SD to USB adapter to add files from my computer.

If you’re used to mainstream e-readers, it’s also worth noting that you probably won’t be able to read library e-books on the X4 Pro. Xteink can’t integrate directly with apps like Libby, and even if you borrow an e-book from a library, you won’t be able to add it to the X4 Pro (libraries use protected versions of .epub files that you can’t copy). But if you purchase an .epub file from a publisher, you’ll be able to add it to your Xteink device without a problem. (Don’t try to buy books on Amazon. It’s a walled garden, so you can only read Amazon eBooks on Amazon devices, even though you literally bought the book! Yay!)

the Extinc X4 Pro It costs $99, and at launch, it’s only available on the Xteink website.