The tiny e-reader

Wanna see a dumb post?

Oh wait, that's me!

I remember learning about the XTEINK line of products from a jvscholz video, then from another Italian youtuber, then on Bluesky... why is everyone raving about this small thing?

I ended up getting the X3 . Now I see why:

It's cheap.

The build quality is very high considering the price point, and I believe they refined it further with the X3 model: buttons are clicky and don't wiggle around, the screen and back cover are perfectly flush with the chassis, display lamination is flawless.

Despite the low resolution, the small size makes for a crisp, readable screen. The only issue I found is that under direct sunlight the text fades somewhat, but thankfully it can be mitigated by using third-party firmware. It's a bit annoying to be honest, but it's okay considering the price.

The lack of USB-C on the X3 isn't a big deal, and it's pin-compatible with many adapters on the market.

Despite earlier reporting, devices sold outside China from the official distributor aren't bootloader locked , meaning you can install, heck, even develop your own custom firmware! It's fun.

There are a few downsides, of course:

The integrated magnets suck: it'll attach to MagSafe phones but both the original case and device lack the vertical positioning magnet, making it rotate left and right. You can add it yourself but it feels like a missed opportunity, especially on the case.

On Reddit, people report it may be too fragile and suggest keeping a case all the time. This feels like a huge downside: it can be a style accessory to your phone when it shows the covers of your favorite books.

The stock firmware experience is subpar. Installing Crosspoint firmware is basically a requirement for daily use.

Companies being fully open to third-party software then closing everything down as soon as the devices get even a tiny bit popular is a tale as old as time0, and XTEINK tried to play the UNO reverse card already: they may do it again in the future.

XTEINK is in the surplus devices line of work: they discovered a bunch of old, small e-Ink panels and decided to finally let their dreams of tiny e-readers become true. I wouldn't count on them being alive two years from now, but thankfully their choice of ESP32 SoC will pay off with community support in the long run.

I think my X3 is a better e-reader than my full-size Kobo just because I can have it on me all the time, lowering the bar for opportunistic reading.

That said, I feel longer reading sessions are better achieved on a standard-size e-reader, as the small screen becomes uncomfortable after a while - in my case, roughly 30 minutes.

People may complain about the lack of backlight, but in my opinion that's a plus!

e-Ink backlighting is a notoriously hard problem. Amazon and Kobo just recently started shipping devices with acceptable lighting setups: I don't think a small company like XTEINK can pull it off easily, but I'd be happily surprised if they could.

A lighting layer would also increase the distance between the outer screen and the e-Ink panel, which may introduce haloing or compromise the beautiful pearl white color of the panel.

To answer my past self, what can a small e-reader do that a phone can't? Not much.

It's a slightly lower interaction device, and sure you can't receive notifications so distractions are a bit less strong, but you may achieve the same result with a careful setup of the do-not-disturb mode on your phone.

If you're able to strap it to your phone and completely ignore it, you have a stronger will than mine, congrats!

I decided to go for one because I like the idea of being less reliant on my phone, but in the end, it's still a distraction: your screen time is still compromised if you're reading all the time rather than scrolling Bluesky!

And that's the real point.

Sometimes we just need to shut it all down and let the mind wander, even if sometimes that's the last thing we want: learn to live with the silence of your mind, sooner or later it may start talking to you!

Or as the kids say these days, go touch some grass.