Xteink e-reader
Hacker ApprovedRanked 10 of 29 e-readers by recommenders
Pocketable, light e-ink reader with physical buttons, liked for reading on the go and for being hackable. Critics say it blocks custom firmware and third-party software.
Pocketable, light e-ink reader with physical buttons, liked for reading on the go and for being hackable. Critics say it blocks custom firmware and third-party software.
26 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Small and light enough for a pocket
“the xteink are nice and can easily fit in the same pocket as a phone”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Amazon introduces a redesigned Kindle family” “I put it in my jeans pocket when I head out the door in the morning”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Freeink: Open Ecosystem for E-Readers” “They just seem perfect for pulling out of a pocket and reading.”
Comment from 23 May 2026 in “Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers” - Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Freeink: Open Ecosystem for E-Readers”
Open and hackable, can flash firmware
“just make sure to get the “developer edition” and you can flash the hardware”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Freeink: Open Ecosystem for E-Readers” “One of the great things about having an open platform like the Xteink”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “How to build a printer” “very hackable, and I've bought one myself”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “Your ePub Is Fine. Kobo Disagrees. Blame Adobe” Better for reading than a phone
“It has certainly made it easier for me to put down my phone in bed”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Freeink: Open Ecosystem for E-Readers” “the Xteink makes it so easy to squeeze reading in everywhere”
Comment from 15 Apr 2026 in “The tiniest e-reader in the world, and you can build one yourself” “its vastly better for reading than my phone”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “Amazon introduces a redesigned Kindle family” Physical buttons work well
“Buttons though are pretty good so enough for tick items on a list”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “Show HN: PaperMono, e-ink fridge magnet shopping list with mobile web page” “i love that (they have buttons)”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Kindle loyalists scramble as Amazon turns page on old e-readers”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Blocks custom firmware and third-party software
“they're trying to block third party software and their own sucks badly”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Open Book Touch: open-source e-reader” “Xteink is working to remove custom firmware support, so I don't think this would drive sales.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Biscuit” “They disabled the ability to USB flash on every device not bought from their official store.”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Freeink: Open Ecosystem for E-Readers”
Other e-readers people recommend
The four most recommended other e-readers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Kindle | 222 | 255 | 47% | 12 | 12 yrs37 owners | — |
| Xteink X4 | 178 | 47 | 79% | 10 | 2 mo31 owners | Approved |
| Kobo e-reader | 154 | 53 | 74% | 12 | 7 yrs14 owners | Approved |
| reMarkable 2 | 93 | 45 | 67% | 12 | 5 yrs13 owners | Approved |
| Xteink e-readerThis page | 22 | 4 | 85% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
27 of the 29 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“For a super compact reader Xteink seems interesting.”
“its vastly better for reading than my phone”
“the xteink are nice and can easily fit in the same pocket as a phone”
“it has a lot of potential”
“The Xteink might be a solid choice for that actually”
“Buttons though are pretty good so enough for tick items on a list”
“One of the great things about having an open platform like the Xteink”
“I am enjoying the recently trendy Xteink e-readers that can't do anything but read books.”
“Made it a single purpose flashcard learning device.”
“I put it in my jeans pocket when I head out the door in the morning”
“just make sure to get the “developer edition” and you can flash the hardware”
“It has certainly made it easier for me to put down my phone in bed”
“this is so light I just can hold it up”
“They disabled the ability to USB flash on every device not bought from their official store.”
“they're trying to block third party software and their own sucks badly”
“held off due to lack of a frontlight option”
“I opted for a Xteink instead and have been very happy with it.”
“very hackable, and I've bought one myself”
“Have opted for other devices like the xteink”
“i love that (they have buttons)”
“like an entrepreneur with social media marketing skills came across a container full of really cheap small eink displays”
“They just seem perfect for pulling out of a pocket and reading.”
“xteink decided to not implement TLS validation, though they could theoretically change that at any point”
“Xteink is working to remove custom firmware support, so I don't think this would drive sales.”
“the Xteink makes it so easy to squeeze reading in everywhere”
“not sure if it would be that useful for any serious reading due to the small size”
“if I have to copy Epubs to it, then that severely limits it's use for me with library books”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.