Updated Aug 24, 2026: buying status has changed
The base X4 is discontinued; the X4 Pro is a live SKU again
Xteink confirmed on August 12, 2026 that the original X4 is discontinued: [the company told The eBook Reader it's "officially sold out, and there are no plans for future production,"](https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2026/08/12/xteink-confirms-the-xteink-x4-is-getting-discontinued/) as it shifts focus to the X4 Pro. The X4 Pro is a live SKU again, though it still sells out in waves, so check the page before you order. The X3 ($69) is the button-only model confirmed in stock.
$99 at xteink.com · check live stock
Xteink X4 Pro: $99 at xteink.com
$99 launch price ($109 list) with a free magnetic case. Front light with warm/cool control, touchscreen + side buttons, 1,100 mAh battery, and an unlocked-firmware guarantee on official-store units.
Confirmed on xteink.com, July 21, 2026
The X4 Pro is live on the official store at a $99 launch price against a $109 list price (9% off), in one color: **Space Black**. Notes from [the product page](https://www.xteink.com/products/xteink-x4-pro-pocket-ereader): - **Free magnetic case with launch orders** (random color; the case sells separately for $8.99 in six colors). - **Stock has been intermittent.** The 500-unit first batch sold through on launch day, and the Pro has cycled in and out of stock since, listed at $99 in Space Black. As of August 24, 2026 Shopify product JSON listed it available again. Check the page for live availability before ordering. - **It is not on Amazon.** The Pro is currently xteink.com-only. A US retail listing is expected (the FCC filing points that way), but none has appeared yet, and buying from the official store is what carries the firmware guarantee below. At the bottom of the product page is this line, quoted verbatim: > **Unrestricted Firmware Guarantee**: "All units purchased directly through the XTEINK official website are exempt from third-party firmware restrictions. This commitment applies to all past and present models, with no planned changes for future updates." After a year of [locked-vs-unlocked lottery](/blog/xteink-locked-or-unlocked-buying-guide/) depending on which seller you bought from, that is Xteink committing in writing that official-store units, X4 Pro included, ship unlocked and stay that way. It does not make the Pro cross-compatible with community firmware (see [CrossPoint status](#crosspoint-and-custom-firmware)). It does remove the seller lottery. When the Pro is in stock at $99, an AliExpress or Taobao markup buys a unit that may not carry that guarantee. [Lowcock flagged grey-market speculation before launch](https://www.joshualowcock.com/xteink/xteink-x4-v2-pro-xteink-x4-with-backlight/). One box-contents gotcha: the Pro ships with the device, a quick-start guide, a 16 GB microSD card, a matte screen protector, two adhesive metal rings, and a **magnetic charging adapter**, but **no charging cable**. The adapter turns a USB-C cable you already own into the pogo-pin connection. If you don't have a spare cable, budget for one. ## Confirmed specsFrom the official product page, not the leaks
The two most-requested features, one controversial trade
- **The front light is real and dual-tone.** Adjustable brightness plus warm/cool temperature: the single most-requested X4 feature. It can be turned off entirely. - **The touchscreen replaces, rather than supplements, the button layout.** The X4's bottom/front buttons are gone (hence the shorter body). You get tap-and-swipe navigation plus two side page-turn buttons (left = back, right = forward) and a home button hidden front-middle. Can you *disable* touch while reading? [Owners now say yes](https://www.reddit.com/r/XTEINK/comments/1v2huds/xteink_x4_projust_sayin/): *"There is already an option to turn off the touchscreen while reading."* Xteink hasn't documented the exact toggle and no press reviewer has walked through it, so treat it as owner-reported (shown in the launch trailer), not vendor-confirmed. - **USB-C is gone.** Charging and data now go through a pogo-pin connector with a magnetic adapter in the box. This is the launch's biggest complaint, covered in the next section. - **Bigger battery, bigger storage.** 1,100 mAh (up from 650) and a 16 GB card in the box with 256 GB expansion support. - **Same software family.** XTOS, Xteink's own non-Android OS, not the Android pivot the S4 represents. Who should upgrade versus stick is a different page: [X4 Pro vs X4](/blog/xteink-x4-pro-vs-x4-upgrade-or-stick/). ## What the community thinksLaunch-week sentiment: torn, not hyped
The 315-upvote spec comparison, the [369-upvote leak thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/XTEINK/comments/1uy1gvx/xteink_x4_gen_2_and_x4_pro_leak_from_aliexpress/), and ["torn about the X4 pro"](https://www.reddit.com/r/xteinkereader/comments/1v1mtbm/torn_about_the_x4_pro/) on r/xteinkereader clustered around four complaints and camps: - **Pogo-pin charging is the loudest objection.** The top comment on the spec thread (81 upvotes): *"the removal of usbC to pogopin alone is enough for me to stay with X4. I dont want to be having a dedicated charger."* Another owner put the irony well: *"The previous deal breaker was lack of a light, they give us that, but then add in a different deal breaker lol."* The counterpoints: the four pogo pins do carry USB data (the X3 flashes firmware through its pins), the adapter is included, and at 1,100 mAh you'll charge infrequently. If "one cable for everything" is a hard requirement, this is a real regression. - **Touchscreen fear is really contrast fear.** Many X4 owners love the device *because* it's button-only, and worry a touch layer washes out the X4's praised contrast: *"On the videos with frontlight they seem to look bad in terms of contrast. I'd wait for actual hands on reviews."* Others point out the upside, dictionary lookup is miserable without touch, and Boox/Kobo owners in the threads say they're switching *for* the front light. This one waits on real-unit photos and reviews. It's the top thing we're watching. - **"$99 is Kindle territory."** Several buyers note the Pro's price meets discounted Paperwhites head-on: *"Add that onto a $99 price and you're literally into Kindle territory"*, with replies pointing at a $125 Paperwhite at Best Buy. The devices aren't really rivals (pocket/minimal vs mainstream/ecosystem), but the price anchor is fair, which is why the [Kindle comparison](/blog/xteink-x4-vs-kindle-paperwhite/) matters more at $99. - **The wait camps.** The threads split into people waiting for CrossPoint support (*"wait until cross point is ready and proved working on the pro"*), waiting for the S4's Android, waiting for a white version (a white render appears at the end of [Xteink's official launch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn_w0XsS0AE), and at least one reviewer says a light-grey unit is on the way), and a vocal group wishing for an "X3 Pro" instead. A fourth group simply bought the OG X4 *because* of the Pro's changes: *"Just bought the og X4 because of all these unnecessary changes."* The most-upvoted line on the [official video thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/XTEINK/comments/1v0tyhe/x4_pro_new_official_video/) was *"All you had to do was add lighting 💀"*. Readers in that camp are watching the leaked [X4 Gen 2](#the-x4-gen-2-leak). ## First hands-on impressionsPre-launch review units. Treat as provisional
The only full hands-on so far is Joshua Lowcock's [first review of the X4 Pro](https://www.joshualowcock.com/xteink/first-review-xteink-x4-pro-the-x4-v2-hands-on-is-it-a-worthy-upgrade/), from a pre-launch Chinese-market unit. His findings, with the caveat that launch firmware may already have moved: - **The touchscreen is a visibly cheaper part.** "You can see the touch screen layer from certain angles. It's like small microdots on the screen." Response was laggy on his unit, and his verdict was blunt: *"I would not buy the XTEINK X4 Pro yet until they fix the touch lag."* - **The front light works, but his pre-launch unit had a battery scare.** Brightness and color temperature both adjust, but he hit "wildly fast battery draining issues" ("drained in minutes") that he suspects are a software bug, plus some light leakage around the bottom edge. Treat that as provisional: it was pre-launch software, and a [retail-unit video review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT45gjuehxY) reports the opposite, that the Pro's bigger cell "helps offset how much more of it the front light uses up" and it charges infrequently in normal use. - **What's in the box matches the launch listing**, and MagSafe-style magnetic mounting works. His overall advice, *"I'd honestly hold on the X4 Pro for now"*, was written against pre-launch software on a first-run unit. Whether it holds against retail firmware is what the first owner reports will tell us. None of this is our own testing (we don't have a unit yet), so treat it as reported, not verified. ## Naming, untangled: V2 Pro vs S4 vs base X4"X4 Pro" is the official name. It is not the S4
While it was rumored, the community called this device the **X4 V2 Pro**, **X4 Pro**, or **X4P**: three names for one product (the FCC model 2BTR9-X4PRO ties them together). Xteink's launch settles it: **X4 Pro** is the official name. If you landed here searching "X4 V2 Pro," you're in the right place. The X4 Pro is not the **S4**. The S4 is Xteink's separate Android-11 pivot (reported on sale in China at CNY 339, with [no international release planned](/blog/xteink-s4-everything-we-know/) as of August 2026). It is also not the **base X4**, which Xteink confirmed is discontinued on August 12, 2026, after years on sale at $69 with its full button row and USB-C. The Pro is best understood as the X4 with a front light and touch, still running Xteink's own OS. The [X4 vs X4 Pro vs S4 comparison](/blog/xteink-x4-vs-s4-vs-x4-v2-pro/) lays out the three-way split. ## The X4 Gen 2 leakThe button-purist alternative. Still unofficial
Five days before launch, an AliExpress seller leaked what look like Xteink's own product-line slides, and they include a device nobody expected: an **X4 Gen 2**, a lighter refresh of the base X4 with **no front light and no touchscreen**. That is the "keep it simple" device the button loyalists are asking for, and [The eBook Reader's coverage](https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2026/07/17/new-xteink-x4-pro-and-x4-gen-2-details-leaked-online/) notes Xteink appears to be keeping the plain-button line alive rather than replacing it. Treat the details as unconfirmed. The eBook Reader flags the leaked images themselves as inaccurate, *"the buttons are wrong"*, and the weight and battery figures floating around (roughly 68 g, 920 mAh) aren't corroborated anywhere, so we don't print them as fact. Nothing about the Gen 2 is official: no date, no price (the thread relays a $69 to $79 rumor), and no word on whether it keeps USB-C. Button-first readers in the leak thread are treating Gen 2 as a wait option. ## CrossPoint and custom firmwareTwo separate questions: locked units and community firmware
**Locked units:** the [Unrestricted Firmware Guarantee](#price-stock-and-the-first-batch) means official-store X4 Pro units ship free of third-party firmware restrictions: the first time Xteink has said that in writing for the whole store. That's a stock-firmware freedom guarantee. **Community firmware (CrossPoint et al.):** a different question. CrossPoint does **not** run on the Pro yet: the touchscreen, front light, and a real-time clock are all new hardware to support. Porting groundwork has begun: an [open pull request (#2675)](https://github.com/crosspoint-reader/crosspoint-reader/pull/2675), created July 22, migrates the UI to the FreeInkUI library and is described by the maintainer as *"the base for the x4Pro work."* That is a started branch, not a working port, and it is a stated purchase gate for part of the community (*"wait until cross point is ready and proved working on the pro"*). Keep the two promises separate. The Unrestricted Firmware Guarantee is a legal commitment that official-store units won't be locked. It is not a sign CrossPoint runs on the Pro today. We're tracking the port on the [firmware directory](/firmware/). ## What we still don't knowThe launch answered a lot. Not everything
- **The chipset** is undisclosed, as always with Xteink. And to kill an old rumor: claims that the Pro runs a Linux-based OS on an Allwinner F1C100s/F1C200s have **no source** and contradict every tracker. The chip is simply "not disclosed." - **Touch-disable while reading**: owner-reported yes, but not vendor-documented or walked through by a reviewer. - **White/other colors**: a white render exists in the official video and review units in light grey have been reported, but the store lists Space Black only. - **Amazon availability**: the FCC filing (2BTR9-X4PRO, submitted June 15, 2026) points at US retail plans, but the Pro remains xteink.com-only for now. No Amazon listing has appeared yet. - **Real-world contrast and battery with the light on**: the two things no spec sheet can answer, and the questions our planned owner test is meant to cover. ## Should you buy, wait, or stick with the X4?Short verdict. Full argument lives on the review
Night readers who want a pocket Xteink with a front light: the X4 Pro is the shipping model that has one. Daylight and button-first readers: the [X3](https://www.xteink.com/products/xteink-x3) is the button-only model still for sale at $69. The original X4 is discontinued. If custom firmware is the point, CrossPoint does not run on the Pro yet. The full buy-or-wait argument is the [X4 Pro review](/blog/xteink-x4-pro-reality-check/). Existing X4 owners deciding whether to upgrade should read [X4 Pro vs X4](/blog/xteink-x4-pro-vs-x4-upgrade-or-stick/). ## FAQYes: it launched July 21, 2026, on xteink.com at a $99 launch price ($109 list). The 500-unit first batch sold through on day one, and stock has been intermittent since, listed at $99 in Space Black. It's not on Amazon; the official store is the only channel so far.
$99 at launch against a $109 list price, including a free magnetic case for launch orders. That's $30 above the discontinued base X4's $69 price. A magnetic case separately is $8.99, a protective case $3.99, and a spare magnetic charging adapter $5.99.
If you read in the dark, the front light is the reason to move, and you get a bigger battery and slimmer body with it. If you read in daylight and love the X4's buttons and USB-C, probably not: you give up the bottom button row and plain USB-C charging. Early hands-on (pre-launch unit) reported touch lag and a battery-drain bug. The full upgrade math is in X4 Pro vs X4 and the X4 Pro review.
No. The X4 Pro (previously rumored as the "X4 V2 Pro") runs Xteink's own non-Android OS, XTOS. The S4 is a different device running Android 11, reported on sale in China only. Both add a front light and touchscreen over the base X4. See the X4 vs X4 Pro vs S4 comparison.
No: it charges and transfers data through a pogo-pin connector. A magnetic charging adapter is included in the box (it also fits the X3), but no USB cable is included. The four pogo pins do carry USB data, the X3 flashes firmware through its pins. The discontinued base X4 used USB-C. Neither shipping model does: the X3 also charges over pogo pins.
No. The Pro is shorter (111 vs 114 mm), has no bottom buttons, and uses a different charging port, so X4 cases and protectors don't fit. Xteink sells X4 Pro-specific cases, and the box includes a matte screen protector.
Not yet, but the port has started. The touchscreen, front light, and RTC are new hardware for developers to support; an open pull request (#2675) is described as the base for the X4 Pro work. Separately, Xteink's Unrestricted Firmware Guarantee promises official-store units won't be locked, a legal commitment, not proof CrossPoint runs today. Watch the firmware directory for status.
A leaked, not-yet-official lighter refresh of the base X4 with no front light and no touchscreen. It appeared in AliExpress seller slides days before the Pro launch, but the eBook Reader flags those images as inaccurate ("the buttons are wrong") and the weight and battery figures floating around are uncorroborated, so we don't print them as fact. If you want the plain-button X4 experience updated, it's the device to wait for news on.