I spent a month with the Xteink X4 Pro — and while I love this tiny $99 ereader, it won’t be replacing my ViWoods AiPaper Reader just yet

Ever since the Xteink X4 landed in early 2026 I’ve been intrigued by this tiny line of ereaders — I loved the idea of sticking one to the back of my phone and carrying it everywhere, but at that point they just had a few too many missing features for my liking.

Then the Xteink X4 Pro launched , and with the addition of a touchscreen and front light, I decided it was finally time to take the plunge and try one for myself.

As a tech lover and early adopter it’s a decision I don’t regret, but this still isn’t quite the device I want it to be.

First impressions — before I turned it on — were positive.

This thing is extremely slim and light.

It’s 111 x 69 x 5.95mm and 72g, numbers which may or may not mean much to you, but essentially this weighs almost nothing, and it’s thin enough that it doesn’t stick out much beyond the camera bump on my iPhone 16 Pro Max when I use its built-in magnets to stick it to the back.

Fragile and exposed (Image credit: TechRadar) The Xteink X4 Pro doesn’t exactly look or feel expensive, but then few ereaders do, and at $109 / £84 / AU$159 (currently reduced to $99 / £76 / AU$145) it doesn’t need to.

The back of your phone is also isn't really the place for a more expensive device — if that's where you plan to stick the X4 Pro, then it’s quite exposed.

It ships with a basic flip cover, but I found the magnets weren’t strong enough to securely attach it to my phone while in a case.

So if I drop my phone, the Xteink X4 Pro is liable to break.

In fact, even with the magnets, it can shift around a bit and come loose in my pocket, or if I press a button too hard.

Maybe it would stay in place better if my phone wasn’t in a case, but that’s not an option for me.

So I sort of expect this thing won’t last long, especially as epaper displays tend to be very fragile.

That’s my first issue with it, as even at its fairly low price, it’s not something I want to constantly be replacing.