Even before Xteink announced they were discontinuing the Xteink X4, there were signs of a newer version taking its place, and now Xteink has officially let the cat out of the bag.
The Xteink X4 Classic is now listed on the Xteink website, and they’ve started posting teasers about its upcoming release on social media. The new X4 isn’t available to order yet, but it’ll most likely get released later in September. Update: The X4 Classic was released on September 7th.
The X4 Classic is basically a combination of the original X4 and the smaller Xteink X3. It still has a 4.3″ E Ink screen with 219 ppi, but they did away with the USB-C port so it’s thinner and lighter than the original X4, and they changed the side button placement so now there are single buttons on each side instead of a dual rocker button on one side.
The X4 Classic also comes with a larger 920mAh battery. It’s 270mAh larger than the battery in the original X4. They also added a sensor like the X3 has so you can turn pages by tilting or shaking the device instead of using the buttons (luckily this feature can be turned off).
Xteink claims the new version is faster too, and it now displays the time and the battery percentage. It does not have a frontlight or a touchscreen like the X4 Pro. It’s mostly just a redesign of the original X4.
So far Xteink hasn’t revealed a release date for the X4 Classic yet, but they’ll most likely start accepting orders later this month. The price is listed at $79 USD on their website, which is $10 higher than the original X4. It comes with a microSD card, a screen protector, 2 magnetic rings, and a pogo to USB-C charging adapter. Some people really dislike the switch to pogo pins for charging, but at least these devices don’t require charging very often. Without a light and touchscreen the battery lasts a really long time even on the original X4 with the smaller battery.
If the touchscreen can be easily en/disabled as needed, including one on the Pro would be okay. Some folks will still complain about the front light and clarity though 🤷♂️
I’d love to try one of these, but with thousands of Kindle/nook books, and the easy borrowing of library books I can’t justify it even with a low price.
Yeah, these are best for DRM-free and DeDRM’d ebooks. And they seem to attract a younger crowd that has normalized piracy and that’s not great so hopefully Amazon and Kobo will come out with some alternatives that actually support purchased ebooks without a bunch of hassle.
I buy books from Kindle, but I also hate that even though I’m “buying” them, they aren’t mine. It’s glorified renting.
So it may be “piracy” but there is a double standard here; we don’t call out the greedy corporation, but we call out the individual who “steals”
No frontlight is disappointing, I was hoping for a model with a frontlight but without touchscreen!
There’s a rumor they’re going to release a version with a frontlight but without a touchscreen, which seems odd to me. I don’t think there’s ever been a frontlit ereader without a touchscreen. Why not just use the Pro with the touchscreen turned off? Personally, I rarely use the bottom buttons for turning pages—the side buttons are more comfortable to use.
PocketBook had the Basic Lux series, which didn’t have a touchscreen. I think they didn’t add one until the very last model, if I remember correctly.
Oh yeah, I forgot about those. I have the last basic lux where they added a touchscreen so I should’ve probably remembered that.
I’m don’t need a new cable/adapter type taking up room around here – with USB-C seemingly out at XTEINK, so are my future purchases from them.