# Xteink X4 178 Hacker News commenters recommended Xteink X4 and 47 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 0.15 years (31 owners). It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** A cheap, pocket-sized e-ink reader people carry everywhere to read instead of doomscrolling, though the stock firmware is clunky and many reflash it with open-source CrossPoint firmware. ## Why people recommend it - Truly pocketable size (9 comments): "I have this and it’s amazing for me. Being able to pocket this and whip it out during moments I would’ve doom scrolled has been great for my reading." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49598439)) "I give the credit to the X4... I'd never have finished it if reading the physical book (too large to carry around) nor if reading on my phone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49599949)) "The reason it's trending right now is because it's a convenient price, simple to use and making people read more because of its size." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48256678)) - Replaces phone doomscrolling (5 comments): "I have this and it’s amazing for me. Being able to pocket this and whip it out during moments I would’ve doom scrolled has been great for my reading." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49598439)) "having it right there mostly serves as a physical token/reminder that I don't want to get sucked in to my social media" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48668843)) "It's perfect: none of the distractions of a phone, battery life measured in weeks, small enough to carry everywhere" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49007180)) - Makes you read more (4 comments): "I give the credit to the X4... I'd never have finished it if reading the physical book (too large to carry around) nor if reading on my phone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49599949)) "Same experience with the X4 Pro. Can wholeheartedly recommend. It feels like reading became much more accessible to me all of a sudden." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49597566)) "The reason it's trending right now is because it's a convenient price, simple to use and making people read more because of its size." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48256678)) - Cheap compared to Kindle (4 comments): "The reason it's trending right now is because it's a convenient price, simple to use and making people read more because of its size." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48256678)) "If you're looking for a much simpler and much cheaper device ($70 vs $200-$300) I would recommend the xteink x4." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45853817)) "small enough to not feel fragile, and cheap enough that it wouldn't be devastating if I broke it anyway" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48253055)) ## What people warn about - Stock firmware is clunky (5 comments): "reviews I've seen have been very positive, with the caveat that "out of the box" includes reimaging it with open source firmware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49703430)) "The font rendering in the official firmware isn't that great though, especially compared to even a old phone screen." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49598204)) "The stock firmware is virtually unusable. Extremely clunky, nothing renders right, moving books is a PITA" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49600741)) - Poor font rendering, hyphenation (3 comments): "The font rendering in the official firmware isn't that great though, especially compared to even a old phone screen." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49598204)) "Screenshots never show text with any hyphenation going on which makes me wonder if it even supports hyphenation." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48664041)) "the screenshots turn me off instantly. The font rendering or hyphenation or kerning (not sure exactly what) looked terrible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49598622)) - Screen breakage, QA concerns (2 comments): "I am not sure about the QA. Some people have been reporting that the screen can break overtime, or even arrived broken." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49010628)) "The layout engine is limited. It does flow text quite well, but when I had mine (the screen broke a few months ago)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48664722)) - MagSafe magnet weak or misaligned (3 comments): "I also got the X3 on sale so I can use it the way I originally intended" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48663176)) "X3 is also great, actually fits on the back of the phone with the magsafe - magnet is a _bit_ too weak." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48664971)) "marketed as having MagSafe that would work with a phone, while the magnet doesn't align with MagSafe" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49597824)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Amazon Kindle](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazon-kindle.md): 222 recommend - [reMarkable 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/remarkable-2.md): 93 recommend - [Kobo Aura One](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kobo-aura-one.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Xteink+X4+E-Ink+Reader&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Xteink X4", https://hackerapproved.com/p/xteink-x4-e-ink-reader/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).