Any and all advice, guides, and reviews are unbiased and based on my personal experience. If you buy through affiliate links, I may earn commissions, which helps support my website. This does not have an impact on posts or my opinion of any reviewed products. If you find this post helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon. It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!
If you’re thinking of buying an XTEINK X4, I love mine – it’s fun, hackable, and despite the limitations it helps me read more distraction free as it’s small enough to be always in my pocket.
In December, XTEINK announced the X3, a smaller version of the X3. Pre-orders have sold out and ship February 2026. I didn’t pre-order, but now wish I did. The big selling point of the X3 is smaller form factor and higher DPI (see table below) but they abandoned USB C for a pogo plug cable. I really don’t like pogo cables, as it’s just not as convenient as USB C and adds a ‘replacement cable’ risk. That’s a personal preference. Which one is right for you? Given the X4 is available now, I’d recommend the X4 but based on Chinese social media updates from XTEINK, the X3 looks awesome.
Here’s the features of the X3, my thoughts are after the “|” symbol:
- Smaller and lighter, just 55 g with a 3.7-inch display | better if you want to stick to the back of your phone
- Higher resolution at 250+ PPI | should improve readability
- Built-in gyroscope for motion-based page turning | interesting, potentially useful for the custom firwmare community
- NFC support | feels like a novelty
- Magnetic Pogo Pin charging (cable included) | ugh… not a fan
- Time display and battery percentage | cool, but battery percentage can be done with Crosspoint firmware
- Expanded smart features such as cloud content push, subscriptions, weather, calendar and more (Overseas app is still under development.)
There’s a lot of me sounding negative ha! but the smaller size and weight and better resolution is good to see. I’m keen to hear from others on how this translates into the reading experience. I do have a YouTube short preview of the X3, thanks to some friends in China.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Cm4tBV5AiSg
XTEINK Subscriptions / the X3 and the XTEINK iOS App
What feature does about the X3 worries me is the word “subscriptions”. I am hoping this is more push to download updates of content and not a paid tier, sort of like an RSS sync like subscription where you can automatically push articles to your device. Weather and calendar could make the X3 a great companion device to eInk writing tablets like the Remarkable. The official XTEINK iOS app is already available if you’re interested in having a play and get a preview of what XTEINK is thinking.
When I registered on the app (email) you need to be on OS 3.1.2 (which isn’t yet public). There’s an XT Cloud setting, plus the ability to import content (links, books, comics, PDFs, and create albums). There was no request for a credit card or plan offered, so that’s a positive.
Finally, for those interested, the following comparison table gives a quick rundown of how the X3 vs X4.
| X3 | X4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display Size | 3.7" | 4.3" |
| Resolution | 480x800 | 480x800 |
| Pixel Density | 220 PPI | 250 PPI |
| Size | 98 x 64 x 4.98 mm | 114 x 69 x 5.98 mm |
| Weight | 55g | 74g |
| E Ink | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | No |
| Gyroscope | Yes | No |
| Backlight | No | No |
| Internal Storage | microSD | microSD |
| XTEINK Cloud | Yes - Enhanced | Yes |
| Battery | 650mAh about one week | 650mAh about one week |
| Charging | Custom | USB C |
| Available | Shipped Feb-26 | Now |
Let’s see what XTEINK brings us in February! The previews in China are on early versions of the firmware (v1.13)
If you’re going to get the X4 instead, I wrote a great getting started guide for X4 owners.
If you’re wondering about the XTEINK S4, which is a rumored upcoming device which will be Android based, but still lightweight and small. Supposedly there will be an announcement in early 2026. They have been testing this since around August 2025 (according to this post). It has new software and looks like a big upgrade on the X4. That said, if it approaches the base kindle price, it would be a hard sell even with the small size.
Some of my other posts about XTEINK devices:
- Ultimate XTEINK X4 FAQ (Unofficial)
- How to change the XTEINK language from Chinese to English
- The best tools, hacks, and more for XTEINK X4 owners
- A comparison of the XTEINK X3 vs X4
- What’s known about the XTEINK S4 (leaks, previews)
Any and all advice, guides, and reviews are unbiased and based on my personal experience. If you buy through affiliate links, I may earn commissions, which helps support my website. This does not have an impact on posts or my opinion of any reviewed products. If you find this post helpful and want to say thanks, please buy me a coffee or take a look at my book on Amazon. It keeps this page ad-free. Thank you!