Xteink launched a new e-reader called the X4 Pro on July 21, 2026. It costs $99 and is available through the company's online store (The Verge). The screen is 4.26 inches across, which is smaller than most e-readers. It sits above the $69 X4 and the $79 X3 in Xteink's lineup as the premium model.

E Ink is the screen technology used in most dedicated e-readers. Unlike a phone or tablet screen, it does not glow on its own. Instead, it reflects light the way paper does, which makes it easier on the eyes and uses very little battery. The X4 Pro also has front lighting, a thin light layer above the screen that lets you read in the dark.

The two big additions over earlier Xteink models are a touchscreen and that front light. The X4 Pro is also slightly smaller and thinner than the original X4. It has four physical buttons: two for turning pages, a reset button, and a power button. A small slot on the top edge takes a microSD card so you can add more storage.

One design choice stands out for a device at this price. The X4 Pro does not have a standard USB-C charging port built in. Instead, it uses a magnetic connector on the back with small metal pins that carry power and data when attached to another device. A USB-C adapter comes in the box. Magnets embedded in the back let the e-reader stick to a compatible smartphone, and the metal pins connect the two devices electrically. That setup suggests Xteink sees the X4 Pro as a companion screen for your phone, not just a standalone reader.

For comparison, Amazon's entry-level Kindle costs $110. That is only $11 more than the X4 Pro, and the Kindle comes with far more brand recognition and a large library of books to buy and download. What the $99 X4 Pro offers instead is the ability to attach to a phone, a storage slot you can expand yourself, and the possibility of installing software from outside the company. A group called CrossPoint Reader plans to have alternative software ready for the X4 Pro when it launches, which matters to the tech-savvy crowd Xteink seems to be targeting.

Xteink built anticipation with a marketing email containing a countdown timer ahead of the July 21 launch (Yahoo Tech). The company's online store also carries an accessories collection that includes a filter category for the X4 Pro, currently listing one product (Xteink).

The broader context here is the niche this device fills. For about twenty years, the e-reader market has been dominated by Amazon's Kindle, with Kobo in a distant second place. Other e-readers outside those two brands have survived by competing on openness, price, or a unusual design rather than by offering a big bookstore. The X4 Pro fits that pattern. It is not trying to beat the Kindle at its own game. The magnets and connector point toward a use case where the e-reader works as a small, low-power screen attached to a phone you already carry. Whether that is worth $99 depends on how well the phone integration actually works, and the details available so far do not cover the companion app or which phone models are supported.

The CrossPoint Reader software plan is a meaningful signal for the enthusiast crowd. Alternative software on e-readers has historically added features beyond what the manufacturer provides, and having it ready at launch rather than months later suggests Xteink and the CrossPoint team are coordinating. That said, the plan is described as an intention, and launch-day availability of outside software is the kind of thing that can slip.

At $99 with a 4.26-inch screen, the X4 Pro is not for someone who wants a large screen for reading novels or PDFs. It is for someone who wants a small, light, open secondary screen that attaches to a phone. The touchscreen and front light fix the two biggest problems with earlier Xteink models. The magnetic-only charging approach will annoy some users and not bother others at all. The phone-mounting magnets are what gives the device a reason to exist beyond Xteink's own cheaper models. Whether that is enough to keep the product alive at this price is a question the market will answer over the coming months.