This even smaller credit card-sized e-reader has one tragic flaw

There’s a caller smallest e-reader successful my life. The Xteink X3 is adjacent smaller and thinner than Xteink’s X4 portion besides improving connected the X4 with refined (but inactive acold from great) software, simplified buttons, and an improved magnetic equine connected the back. It’s a amended compact e-reader than the X4 if utmost portability is your priority, but its slimmer plan comes astatine a unspeakable terms that’s a imaginable deal-breaker. Instead of a USB-C port, the X3 charges done an uncommon magnetic pogo-pin connection.

That was a heartbreaking find portion unboxing the caller X3 due to the fact that it really comes with a fistful of improvements that marque it a coagulated upgrade. The X3 is simply a millimeter thinner, a fewer millimeters narrower, and implicit fractional an inch shorter than the X4. It’s overmuch person successful size to a recognition card, but portion the X3 is conscionable a spot excessively large to compression wrong my slim wallet, I tin gaffe the 2 into my pouch without noticing immoderate added bulk. 

When the X4 archetypal popped up past December, it wasn’t conscionable its size that caught our attention. Xteink promoted the X4 with images of it stuck to the backmost of a smartphone similar a MagSafe battery, seemingly promising an e-reader that went everyplace your telephone did and a much versatile alternate to e-reader cases. But the unusual positioning of the magnets connected the backmost of the X4 and its size prevented it from decently piggybacking connected my iPhone 16 Pro without resorting to applying adhesive metallic rings and having it awkwardly bent disconnected the bottom.

I was thrilled to find the X3 fits perfectly connected the backmost of my iPhone 16 Pro, and past erstwhile again disappointed to observe its magnets aren’t beardown capable to support it securely successful place. Magnetic accessories similar PopSockets oregon the OhSnap Snap Grip person a satisfying “thunk” erstwhile attaching them to your phone. Attaching the X3 to my 16 Pro feels much similar the devices are exchanging a anemic hug. They don’t stay aligned erstwhile holding the 2 together, and connected respective occasions the X3 fell disconnected my telephone portion being inserted oregon removed from a pocket.

Xteink X3 e-reader

Where to Buy:

• $79 astatine Xteink

The X3 has a smaller 3.7-inch E Ink show than the 4.7-inch sheet successful the X4, resulting successful a somewhat higher 250ppi, but the speechmaking acquisition remains the aforesaid and depends connected your comfortableness successful focusing connected a surface this small. I similar sticking to a tiny font, which demands my speechmaking glasses astatine each times, but if your eyes similar a larger font you’ll beryllium often turning the leafage due to the fact that the X3 tin compression less words connected screen. In that case, you’ll beryllium amended disconnected with a larger Kindle oregon Kobo.

There’s inactive nary surface lighting oregon touchscreen functionality, but the X3’s fastener layout has been improved. There’s present conscionable a azygous fastener connected either broadside of the e-reader utilized for scrolling menus and turning to the adjacent oregon erstwhile leafage erstwhile reading, positive a brace of two-sided buttons beneath the X3’s surface for navigating menus and its OS.

Having to retrieve which of the two-sided buttons I needed to property to marque a enactment oregon leap backmost to a erstwhile surface was 1 of my biggest frustrations with the X4. Xteink has improved the bundle connected the X3 and added contextual onscreen labels supra those buttons… but lone connected the homescreen, which feels similar a tease. As you navigate different areas of the OS, those labels disappear. The UI is inactive often frustrating and makes it consciousness similar Xteink wants you to gain the close to usage an e-reader this small.

There are a fewer different bundle improvements. There are much options for adjusting enactment spacing that tin assistance compression much substance connected surface and a caller relation wherever you tin shingle the X3 to crook the page. It worked, but felt similar an unusual alternate to the buttons. Wirelessly transferring books to the X3 from your smartphone utilizing a mobile app besides worked now, but it was a convoluted and clunky process and it’s inactive overmuch easier to conscionable popular retired the e-reader’s microSD paper and transcript ebook files straight to it utilizing a paper reader.

Most of the limitations with the X4’s software, including conscionable 2 font size choices, persist with the X3. It gives the e-reader a steep learning curve, and it’s perfectly not a instrumentality I’d urge to anyone looking for the polished UI acquisition of a Kindle. The fantabulous CrossPoint Reader alternate firmware was the X4’s redeeming grace, but it doesn’t enactment the X3 yet. Dave Allie, who spearheaded the archetypal improvement of CrossPoint Reader, says X3 enactment is “basically complete,” but its merchandise is inactive successful limbo.

Despite bundle and hardware upgrades that consciousness lacking, I’d inactive beryllium tempted to urge the X3 due to the fact that I simply adore however tiny it is. It disappears into immoderate pouch I gaffe it into portion inactive being comfy to clasp and really work with. It whitethorn look gimmicky, but implicit the past week unsocial I’ve finished fractional a caller portion speechmaking successful enactment astatine checkout, going done a car wash, and waiting astatine schoolhouse pickup. I don’t similar speechmaking connected my phone, and I find the X3 to beryllium a large alternate to dragging my Kobo around. But the deficiency of a USB-C larboard is simply a existent symptom point.

During my investigating of the X3, I managed to misplace its magnetic charging cablegram for 3 days earlier remembering wherever I had moved it. With the e-reader’s artillery beingness rated astatine astir 2 weeks it wasn’t a large contented to misplace the cablegram for 3 days, but it could person easy gone missing for a batch longer than that. The institution doesn’t urge utilizing third-party alternatives recovered connected Amazon and lone plans to commencement selling replacement cables aboriginal this month.

In a satellite wherever USB-C is present astir standardized crossed each devices, having to support tabs connected a proprietary cablegram feels similar excessively overmuch of an inconvenience. Making the X3 a spot thicker to accommodate a USB-C larboard oregon adjacent a wireless charging coil would not person diminished its pocketability oregon portability successful immoderate meaningful way. As overmuch arsenic I privation to instrumentality the X3 with maine everyplace I go, I don’t deliberation I person immoderate country successful my bosom for a gadget not connected the USB-C bandwagon.

Photography by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge