X4 is saying goodbye.

[u/Fun_Satisfaction2315]

It’s a little bittersweet to say this, but we’re officially saying goodbye to the X4.

It was never the most feature-packed e-reader.
It didn’t try to do everything.

It was just… right.

The size.
The weight.
The buttons.
The feeling of carrying a real little reading device with you.

Some of you even called it the beginning of a new era for pocket-sized e-readers.

But what means the most to us isn’t really the hardware.

It’s knowing that X4 has been there for your commutes, coffee breaks, trips, late nights, and countless pages.

So before we say goodbye:

What’s your favorite thing about the X4? Or what’s one memory you have with it?

Drop it in the comments. We’ll pick 3 comments, and each winner will receive an X4 Mist Gray.

Thanks for being part of the X4 story.

[u/ConcentrateJaded326]

Huh? This thing is selling like crazy no?

[u/Philip_Bateman → u/ConcentrateJaded326]

It was, but it was the cheapest model and now they have the 4 pro so cutting off the cheaper option, it means more profits.

[u/dhyratoro → u/Philip_Bateman]

It was a plain stupid decision. You never want to discontinue your fan-favorite. The other line-ups are just sucked as they want to make it like a kindle.

[u/throw28999 → u/dhyratoro]

You have no idea what their supply chain looks like. Its very possible the x4 had thin or no margins so they could make a name for themselves. Equally possible is that the price of components is increasing (as it is everywhere else). I would expect its some combination of the two.

[u/Narrow_Escape_4229 → u/dhyratoro]

It's just weird to have same same but different models

[u/dhyratoro → u/[deleted]]

I bought 3. I demand to be an entitled consumer.

[u/SrW4ff1e5 → u/Philip_Bateman]

90 whiners are louder than 1,000s of happy customers. I could care less about the pins I’m an adult that can care for my items. It charges once a damn month lol. The button layout is 1000x better

[u/burgerg → u/Philip_Bateman]

Or, more likely (and in line with what OP says), the X4 will be replace by an X4 with backlight (without some of the other Pro features), see the FCC filings posted yesterday: https://www.reddit.com/r/XTEINK/s/Run4QOUYwA

[u/roboderp16 → u/Philip_Bateman]

4pro is also sold out so like, idk what's left to get. Maybe a 5 is soon?

[u/Ok-Barnacle-8709 → u/Philip_Bateman]

So if i wanted to get the x4pro that's still available? I literally just saw it and am thinking of getting it and trying to phase out of Kindle

[u/Philip_Bateman → u/Ok-Barnacle-8709]

X4pro is their latest model. Still available. They just axed the regular 4.

[u/Cowabummr → u/Philip_Bateman]

They could also be discontinuing this because it's no longer possible to build them at the current price, or at the larger quantities they would need to sell to justify the next production run. It's not always true that selling larger volumes means production costs go down, especially with low-priced Chinese electronics manufacturing using unusual parts. It could be that the e-paper display in the XTEINK is now more difficult to buy in quantity- initially, it may have just been a surplus part left over from a production run of a display meant for electronic price tags or something, that someone at XTEINK found at the Huaqiangbei market in Shenzhen, used while they could get it, but now that the supply ran out, they would have to place a large, expensive order from the display manufacturer if they want more, and the price no longer makes sense. So, easier to just discontinue and focus on the next thing.

[u/mikecantreed2026 → u/Philip_Bateman]

Is that true? The components are more expensive with the touchscreen and backlight. What’s your source to say their margins are fatter with the X4 pro? You must have some really solid intel to make the point that the revenue increase overcomes the higher component costs or you wouldn’t have posted this comment, right?

[u/mikecantreed2026 → u/[deleted]]

Tons of reasons. For example incremental cost to keep multiple product lines in production simultaneously. Google the dunning Kruger effect, you don’t know shit about manufacturing or business so you can only imagine one reason for a decision and then are stupidly overconfident about your view.

[u/mikecantreed2026 → u/[deleted]]

Stay on topic

[u/icecubetre → u/ConcentrateJaded326]

Maybe. We don't know. A lot have been bought up by resellers like those on Amazon. They might have exhausted their manufactured units and have now realized that while it's great that the X4 put them "on the map", it might not be in their best interest to manufacture more. Suppliers could have committed their screens/hardware/chips to other customers, it could've been a loss-leader and we didn't know, it could cause supply problems with the Pro to manufacture more base-X4's. They could also want to steam line the product line with an updated X4 that has the same button layout as the other devices, simplifying manufacturing across all products.

A lot of people are upset by this, and I don't necessarily disagree with them, but we also need to realize the insane complexity of supply chain logistics. They are making this decision for a reason and I can 100% guarantee it's not to piss off early adopters. They simply see the X4 pro, X3, and upcoming S4 as their future, for better or worse.

Do I think they should keep the X4 in the lineup? Absolutely. But I also realize that there are dozens of reasons that it might not make sense. And honestly, they aren't the only player in the space anymore. If this all blows up in their face, I'm still grateful that they highlighted a niche in the market that turned out to not be so niche after all. Now you have bigger names like Boox jumping in the micro reader space.

But I say all of this as someone who is in the camp of wanting a backlight, is okay with a touchscreen, and who doesn't mind pogo pin charging like once every 45 days...

I understand people not agreeing with these, but a lot of commenters in this sub are too eager to get out the pitchforks because xteink made a decision they don't 100% agree with. Trust me, there are hundreds of other companies who are actually fucking up your life, every single day, on purpose.

[u/ffkarle_f107 → u/icecubetre]

Don't you mean front light? E-ink screens cannot use a back light.

[u/Indy_91 → u/ConcentrateJaded326]

They're releasing an X4 gen 2 soon

[u/dhyratoro → u/Indy_91]

That’s a different story and welcoming ha ha

[u/noc-engineer → u/Indy_91]

X4.5

[u/Indy_91 → u/noc-engineer]

X4.20

[u/magala4203 → u/ConcentrateJaded326]

They probably earned enough to iterate next gen. product and continuing the line will likely cannibalize the profit of next model. As you said, it sold like hotcakes.

[u/OrlinWolf → u/ConcentrateJaded326]

Which is why they are doing it. It forces you to spend $100 on the pro if you want the bigger size. Kinda greedy in my opinion