Some of Xteink’s credit card-sized e-readers are losing their best feature

May 1, 2026 Andrew Liszewski

A person holds the Xteink X3 e-reader between two fingers in front of a bookshelf.
The X3 is Xteink’s smallest e-reader. | Photo: Andrew Liszewski / The Verge

The Xteink X4 and X3 are excellent alternatives to Kindles and Kobos if you want an e-reader that's as easy to slip into your pocket - just not out of the box. Both devices come with stock firmware that's clunky, limited, and occasionally confusing, but that can be easily fixed by plugging them into a PC to install alternative software called CrossPoint Reader which delivers a more polished user interface and improved functionality. But now buyers report Xteink is blocking the upgrade, which might depend on where you live and where you purchase its devices.

The issue was first reported by a Reddit user earlier this week when they discovere …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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