Which mini Xteink ereader must you purchase? I’ve crunched the numbers on all 4 fashions — here is my verdict as an X4 Professional proprietor

The Xteink S4 could be the tiny ereader you’ve been ready for, as not like different Xteink units — and rival merchandise just like the Boox Picco — this runs Android.

That comes with numerous upsides, not least the power to immediately entry the Kindle and Kobo apps, the absence of which is one thing I’ve been lamenting about my Xteink X4 Professional, but it surely additionally has some downsides.

So must you look ahead to this at the moment China-only ereader to get a worldwide launch? Or are you higher off sticking with the Xteink X4 Traditional, the X4 Professional or the even tinier X3? I’ve in contrast these units under, to assist reply that query.

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: specs comparability

Under you’ll discover a nearer have a look at the important thing options of each obtainable Xteink mannequin, however first right here’s how their core specs examine:

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: value and availability

The Xteink X4 Traditional, X4 Professional, and X3 are all obtainable immediately from Xteink and from some third-party shops like Amazon. They ship to a lot of the world, and the most affordable is the Xteink X3, which prices $69 / £69 / AU$102.

Then there’s the Xteink X4 Traditional for $79 / £79 / AU$116, whereas the Xteink X4 Professional will value you $99 / £99 / AU$146.

The Xteink S4 is to date solely obtainable in China, however I’d anticipate it should value at the very least as a lot because the X4 Professional, if no more.

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: design

All of those units look related to one another, as they’re all small rectangles and look a bit like a tiny telephone — albeit with bigger bezels than most trendy smartphones.

All of them have buttons and charging ports on the perimeters, however the Xteink X3 and Xteink X4 Traditional every even have two lengthy, slim buttons on the bezel under the show, whereas the Xteink X4 Professional and Xteink S4 as an alternative have a single round button, like a a lot smaller model of the house button on very previous iPhones.

The Xteink X4 Traditional and X3 are each obtainable in a alternative of Area Black or Mist Grey (the latter of which is typically known as ‘Frost White’ as an alternative), whereas the X4 Professional is at the moment solely bought in Area Black, however photos of it exist in a grey shade too, so that may most likely launch eventually. In China, the Xteink S4 is accessible in black and white shades, and it’s possible the colour choices would be the identical when it goes world.

So there’s not a lot distinction there both — the primary design distinction is of their weight and dimensions. The Xteink X3 is the smallest and lightest of the bunch at 97.6 x 63.7 x 5.1mm and 58g. Then there’s the Xteink X4 Traditional at 114 x 69 x 4.9mm and 68g — making it barely slimmer however in any other case bigger.

The Xteink X4 Professional is 111 x 69 x 5.95mm and 72g, so it’s not fairly as tall because the X4 Traditional however is thicker and heavier than each that and the X3. After which there’s the Xteink S4, which we don’t have full dimensions for but, however which we all know is 6.98mm thick and 95g, making it the thickest and heaviest of all of them.

All of those units have inbuilt magnets although, permitting you to connect them to the again of a telephone — although they’re fairly weak like that, so that you may want to place them in a case anyway.

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: show

The Xteink S4, X4 Traditional, and X4 Professional all have a 4.3-inch display screen with 219 pixels per inch, whereas the Xteink X3 has a smaller 3.7-inch display screen with 259 pixels per inch.

So that you’re getting a barely crisper show on the X3, which might make all of the distinction as personally my X4 Professional isn’t fairly as sharp as I’d like — particularly while you examine it side-by-side with different units just like the ViWoods AiPaper Reader with its 300ppi show.

However, you’re additionally getting a very tiny display screen should you select the X3, which could possibly be a very good or unhealthy factor relying in your choice — it makes this all of the extra compact, but in addition means you’ll consistently be turning the web page.

Past these variations, the Xteink S4 and Xteink X4 Professional have touchscreens — although you may as well flip pages with buttons should you want — whereas the X3 and X4 Traditional are purely reliant on buttons for interactions.

The Xteink S4 and X4 Professional additionally each have a entrance gentle, which the opposite fashions lack, that means these are the one two you may learn on with out exterior gentle sources.

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: efficiency and software program

The Xteink X4 Traditional, X4 Professional, and X3 all run a proprietary Linux-based working system. It’s an working system that personally I didn’t suppose a lot of, and I’m not alone judging by discussion board feedback. However Xteink’s units can handily be purchased with unlocked firmware, making it straightforward to flash different working techniques onto them.

I’m operating an open supply one referred to as CrossInk, which I’m fairly happy with. However there’s a significant limitation with any of the choices in that they will’t run the Kindle or Kobo apps (or every other apps), making it tougher to get books onto them than with most ereaders — you could obtain DRM-free variations or take away the DRM, after which switch them to the system.

That’s an actual ache, and it’s an issue the Xteink S4 solves, as this runs Android 11. And whereas I can’t but affirm precisely which apps work with it (since there are generally compatibility points on ereaders), Xteink claims it helps “mainstream reader apps.”

Nonetheless, there are two potential issues with this strategy as properly — one is battery life, which I’ll get into within the subsequent part, and the opposite is safety and help. Android 11 is six years previous now, and it could possibly be more and more weak to bugs and malware, since Google is targeted on patching newer releases. In addition to which, Android ereaders have a tendency to not obtain Android updates anyway, so it might not obtain safety patches or new Android variations.

Finally, apps may even cease supporting Android 11, so whereas Android is probably going to present you a slicker expertise, having such an previous model comes with main drawbacks.

As for storage, the Xteink X4 Professional, X4 Traditional, and X3 are all purely reliant on a microSD card — they every include a 16GB one included, but it surely’s a low high quality one, so that you may need to exchange it. There’s help for playing cards of as much as 256GB.

The Xteink S4 takes a distinct strategy, with 32GB of inbuilt storage, however Android most likely takes up a large chunk of that, and there’s seemingly no microSD card slot.

You’re additionally restricted to only a few e book codecs on the Xteink X3, X4 Traditional, and X4 Professional, with simply EPUB and TXT being supported, alongside JPG and BMP for photos (or seemingly simply BMP within the case of the Traditional). We don’t have a full listing of supported codecs for the Xteink S4, however the firm claims it helps “10+ native codecs,” so it ought to have the sting there.

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: battery

The Xteink S4 has a 1,400mAh battery, and whereas we don’t know precisely how lengthy it lasts, Xteink claims its “beneficiant battery retains periods lengthy.”

That’s greater capability than the opposite fashions, with the Xteink 4 Professional having an 1,100mAh battery, the X4 Traditional having a 920mAh one, and the X3 having only a 650mAh one.

Xteink solely seems to have launched battery stats for the X3, which it claims can last as long as 10-14 days, primarily based on 1-3 hours of studying per day. It’s possible then that even with their bigger screens, the Xteink X4 Traditional and X4 Professional will final even longer, given their far greater capability batteries, and that definitely appears to be the case in my expertise of the X4 Professional.

Granted, I’m not operating inventory firmware, which might have an effect on issues, however I appear to be getting months off a single cost, albeit with maybe extra like simply half-hour of studying a day.

You may assume then that the Xteink S4 will final even longer — and maybe it should — however I’d be stunned, as Android tends to be much more battery hungry than the light-weight working techniques utilized by the opposite fashions. I think, primarily based on my expertise with the Android-powered ViWoods AiPaper Reader, that the S4 may even have the worst lifetime of the bunch, however that continues to be to be seen.

In order that’s the opposite draw back of it operating Android, but it surely does have one benefit on the battery entrance too, because it has a USB-C port, which makes charging handy. The opposite fashions all use an annoying proprietary charger.

Xteink S4 vs X4 Professional vs X4 Traditional vs X3: verdict

There’s no clear winner between these units. Should you merely need the smallest and lightest ereader potential, then you need to go for the Xteink X3 — particularly as that’s additionally the most affordable.

If you need one thing a bit larger — otherwise you suppose you’d profit from a touchscreen or a entrance gentle — then take into account the Xteink X4 Professional. For all of that plus Android, the one choice is the as-yet-unreleased Xteink S4 — although that additionally comes with downsides in terms of safety and doubtlessly battery life.

The one one which’s tougher to make a case for is the Xteink X4 Traditional. This slots between the X3 and the X4 Professional with an even bigger display screen than the X3 however no touchscreen or gentle. These options I really feel are essential sufficient that if you need an even bigger display screen you need to select the Professional over the Traditional until cash is actually tight.

Personally, I’m pleased with my Xteink X4 Professional, and wouldn’t select any of the opposite fashions over it. Aside from the S4 it’s probably the most full-featured, however the compromises that include the Xteink S4’s Android model make it unappealing to me. What I really need is a mannequin operating Android 17, however even then, if that meant considerably worse battery life I’d suppose twice.

The one issues I’m sure I need that the X4 Professional lacks are a sharper display screen and USB-C, so hopefully a tool that ticks all these containers is within the works.

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