The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader • Hacker News Board

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#141

Post by alias_neo » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 8:33 AM UTC

npunt wrote: post #103

Was just looking at this. What keeps me from buying is the screen is just too small. I'd love to slap this magnetically on the back of my iPhone and have it on the go as a focused reading device but eyes after 40 aren't so happy about reading super tiny characters. My two wishes are: to size it up so it is roughly the width of a modern smartphone (2.72" -> 2.8") and decrease bezel size. At these small sizes, even 1/2…

The screen size isn't really an issue for font sizes. Just put fewer words on the screen.

There are e-readers that put a single word on the screen, this can fit plenty in a decent font size, you'll have to switch pages more often, but I haven't found that to be an issue, the button is very light to press and the page transition (with Crosspoint) is fast.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#142

Post by raffael_de » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 8:46 AM UTC

let's put a SIM card in there and use it as a smartphone ... I'd love that

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#143

Post by ChrisRR » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 8:57 AM UTC

I've seen multiple people talking about it, but personally I can't see the appeal beyond novelty. I can't imagine wanting to read a book on a device this small

Edit: I'm also always sceptical of when so many people post "I Just bought , and I love it". It makes me wonder what they'll think after the honeymoon period is over

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#144

Post by aa-jv » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 9:05 AM UTC

"X"-"tee"-"ink" .. ex-tea-ink .. extinct?

BRB, off to set up a "naming things as a service" startup.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#145

Post by MDib » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 9:18 AM UTC

alias_neo wrote: post #141

npunt wrote: post #103

Was just looking at this. What keeps me from buying is the screen is just too small. I'd love to slap this magnetically on the back of my iPhone and have it on the go as a focused reading device but eyes after 40 aren't so happy about reading super tiny characters. My two wishes are: to size it up so it is roughly the width of a modern smartphone (2.72" -> 2.8") and decrease bezel size. At these small sizes, even 1/2…

The screen size isn't really an issue for font sizes. Just put fewer words on the screen. There are e-readers that put a single word on the screen, this can fit plenty in a decent font size, you'll have to switch pages more often, but I haven't found that to be an issue, the button is very light to press and the page transition (with Crosspoint) is fast.

Agree, for me less words on screen is a feature not a bug. At least for the shape of my brain, it stops me from getting lost in the text or skipping up/down the page accidentally. The side/front page turn button redundancy means the act of page turning just fades into reflexiveness and I end up reading faster and retaining more

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#146

Post by fg137 » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 9:42 AM UTC

npunt wrote: post #103

Was just looking at this. What keeps me from buying is the screen is just too small. I'd love to slap this magnetically on the back of my iPhone and have it on the go as a focused reading device but eyes after 40 aren't so happy about reading super tiny characters. My two wishes are: to size it up so it is roughly the width of a modern smartphone (2.72" -> 2.8") and decrease bezel size. At these small sizes, even 1/2…

I mean, people read HN articles and discuss them on phones all the time.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#147

Post by sorbusherra » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 9:49 AM UTC

NikolaNovak wrote: post #112

sieve wrote: post #8

Got the X4. Put CrossPoint on it. Works like a charm. The http server accessible over wifi makes transferring books extremely simple. (Shame on the Kindle for locking everything down.) This is proof-of-concept that a microcontroller is more than enough for something like an e-reader. I have a Kindle and a Kobo. They are sturdy devices. But the X4 is the one that is a genuine e-reader. Would not get it as my one and o…

Question to X4 owners - what is the benefit over a smartphone? I have a kindle for beach and travel as a good compromise size; I use my 10" tablet when I really settle in for reading, or when I read technical books with graphs or books with photographs etc. For my adhoc reader I use kindle app on my phone. What is the unique selling point of something like X4? I notice it attaches to the phone which seems bizarre, ph…

it is small, has absolutely no possibility to distractions like phone. none.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#148

Post by backscratches » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 9:59 AM UTC

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #99

staindk wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many books do you want to fit on that thing? :o

I thought the compressed size of the LLM book corpus was a mere 100-200GB. GP has big plans.

Wikipedia is ~60GB!

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#149

Post by npunt » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 10:27 AM UTC

fg137 wrote: post #146

npunt wrote: post #103

Was just looking at this. What keeps me from buying is the screen is just too small. I'd love to slap this magnetically on the back of my iPhone and have it on the go as a focused reading device but eyes after 40 aren't so happy about reading super tiny characters. My two wishes are: to size it up so it is roughly the width of a modern smartphone (2.72" -> 2.8") and decrease bezel size. At these small sizes, even 1/2…

I mean, people read HN articles and discuss them on phones all the time.

Phone screens are larger, higher res, pinch zoomable, and have backlighting that creates uniform contrast and readability in nearly all lighting conditions.

Re: The Xteink X4 E-Ink Reader

#150

Post by Kaibeezy » Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 10:47 AM UTC

OMG, e-ink = FRONTlight, not backlight. /pedantry

They have an S4 coming out with frontlight and Android. Would be great if it supports scrolling like a Boox Palma but at 1/6 the price.