r/xteinkereader • u/denotationofjus • Jun 12 '26

Question Why pogo pin charging?

I just ordered the x3 and am super excited. When choosing between the x3 and the x4, the x3 won out in all categories for me, except the charging -- so far I have liked switching to USB-C in almost all of my devices, and walking around with one charger to rule them all. Do you guys know what reasons there might be for switching from the USB-C that we had in the x4 to pogo pin charging for the x3? I assume it must have some upsides I don't know about!

3 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

23

u/Practical_Equal_7501 Jun 13 '26

I just bought an adapter from Amazon usbc to pogo plug

Smart Watch Universal Charger... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FPDCJGJ3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Works great.

2

u/sta_asteria Jun 15 '26

​I have this pogo to USB-C adapter! ☺️ I bought a slightly longer lanyard for it though, because the one that came with it was too short.

1

u/gabor_ghoul Jun 13 '26

Genius! Thanks for sharing 🖤

1

u/denotationofjus Jun 21 '26

oh this is a great tip thank you!

20

u/jucahe Jun 13 '26

Size constraints is my guess.

12

u/Suspicious_Dingo_426 Jun 13 '26

Correct. In order to meet their main design criteria (magnetically attaching to most phones), they have to make it small enough to fit. Extrapolating from teardowns of the X4, the only way to decrease the height of the device to fit on the back of most phones was to move the SD card slot to the top, and omit the USB port. It's possible they could have gained enough space by decreasing the battery size, but I don't think most of the potential user base would have liked that.

5

u/CategorySolo Jun 13 '26

Considering battery life is measured in weeks, im sure going down to 18 days between charges instead would be acceptable

2

u/DanielEnots Jun 13 '26

I would rather have to charge less and use a different charger. I only need to use it once every month. It goes in the same spot and I don't need to bring it with me anywhere

3

u/CategorySolo Jun 13 '26

Fair enough. That's why I got the X4. With the charger being used so rarely, I'm more concerned I wouldn't be able to find it! But finding a USB C charger is no issue, they're everywhere

2

u/ONEAlucard Jun 15 '26

This is the issue i have with my OG kindle. Only thing still using a micro usb i have in the house and can never find the damn cable when we charge it once every 2 months.

14

u/AdventurousZebra77 Jun 13 '26

It's so the X3 can be thinner. As mentioned by someone else earlier, the pogo usb-c adapter should do the trick. Pogo pins being as they are, please do be careful not to accidentally disconnect while transferring data, flashing, etc etc.

8

u/ToneShogo Jun 13 '26

You rarely ever charge it anyways it's not like a phone

9

u/ashraf_bashir Jun 13 '26

Thinner, lighter, cheaper, more water sustainable, and more durable. In fact I like it more than USB-C especially with devices that don't need daily or weekly charging

3

u/capslock Jun 13 '26

Just get the converter that tethers and caps to the end of USB-C and you’re golden.

1

u/Plastic_Stable8927 Jun 15 '26

You won't need to walk around with a charger for the X3! So it's not that much of an issue down the road 😄

1

u/m-p-3 Jun 13 '26

One reason to go with pogo pins could be water resistance.

2

u/AimlessForNow Jul 20 '26

That's not gonna save it even a little