Xteink X4 vs Boox Palma 2: Palma for apps, $69 for files

Buy the Boox Palma 2 ($249.99) if you read through Kindle, Libby, Hoopla, or Everand, or if you need a front light. Buy a button-only Xteink if you load DRM-free files yourself. The original X4 is discontinued, so that $69 case is the X3 today. The $181 gap buys Android apps, not a nicer version of the same reader.

“Boox Palma” is ambiguous in 2026. The original Palma is no longer Boox’s current pocket model, and the Boox Palma 2 Pro is a pricier color model in a different class. The device selling at Palma money is the Boox Palma 2: $249.99, a 6.13-inch Android E Ink device with the Google Play Store. That is what this guide weighs against the Xteink X4.

Xteink X4 vs Boox Palma 2: Which Should You Buy?

Buy the Xteink X3 for the lightest $69 way to read files you already own. The original X4 is discontinued. Buy the Boox Palma 2 if you need Android reading apps or a front light.

The Palma 2 is a different category of device that happens to use an E Ink screen. It runs real Android apps. The X4 runs nothing but its own firmware. Whether that is worth $181 depends on whether you need those apps, or a front light the X4 does not have.

How Much Cheaper Is the Xteink X4 Than the Boox Palma 2?

The Xteink X4 is $181 cheaper than the Boox Palma 2: $69 vs $249.99, a 3.6× gap. That gap alone rules the X4 in or out for a lot of buyers before any feature is weighed.

At $69, the X4 is an impulse buy: something you toss in a bag, gift without a second thought, or don’t panic over if it gets scuffed. The Palma 2 is a considered purchase, closer to buying a budget phone than a book light. The extra $181 buys an Android computer, a camera, and an app ecosystem, not a nicer screen.

The X4 earned a following anyway, reportedly becoming the first non-Kindle e-reader to crack Amazon’s own top-10 e-reader chart, and its open ESP32 hardware spawned a community firmware scene.

What Does the Boox Palma 2 Do That the Xteink X4 Can’t?

The Boox Palma 2 runs Android reading apps (Kindle, Libby, Hoopla, Everand, a browser) that the Xteink X4 cannot install at all. The screen is not the gap. Apps are.

Because the Palma 2 runs stock Android with Google Play, it can install and run the Kindle app, Libby, Hoopla, Everand, a web browser, or anything else in the store, on an E Ink screen instead of a backlit phone. One reviewer who tested it specifically for library and subscription reading put it plainly:

The X4 has no equivalent story, because it has no apps to run one. It reads files you put on its SD card and does nothing else.

What Do You Give Up With the $69 Xteink X4?

The Xteink X4’s low price is not a lesser version of the Palma 2. It is a different device with a hard ceiling: no apps means no library or subscription reading, period.

The X4 also ships with no touchscreen, no front light, and no camera. If you read after dark, that is a Palma 2 reason, not an X4 reason. A lamp or a clip-on light can patch bedtime reading after you already chose the X4. It is not a reason to pick the X4 over the Palma 2. What you get instead is a device with nothing to update, log into, or worry about draining faster because a background app woke it up.

Which Is Smaller and Lighter: The X4 or the Palma 2?

The Xteink X4, by a wide margin: 77 g vs the Palma 2’s ~170 g. The X4 is built to disappear in a pocket. The Palma 2 is built to run a full OS, and its size and battery both reflect that.

The X4’s smaller battery is not a shortcoming. It matches a device that does one low-power job. Because it only refreshes text, it stretches days to weeks per charge depending on use, so it barely needs the bigger cell. The Palma 2’s much bigger battery mostly buys enough runtime to survive a day of app use, not necessarily a longer stretch than the X4. A general-purpose device running apps, WiFi, and a camera drains faster per hour than a dedicated reader ever will. At 170 grams and 8.0mm thick, the Palma 2 reads more like a phone in your hand. The 77-gram, 5.9mm-thin X4 disappears into a coin pocket the Palma 2 never will.

The Honest Downsides on Both Sides

Neither the Xteink X4 nor the Boox Palma 2 is a clean win. Each has a real, sourced limitation worth knowing before you buy.

The Palma 2’s Android layer is not a perfect phone-replacement experience on E Ink. The same reviewer who called the app access a “gamechanger” also flagged that the Kindle app on the Palma requires a swipe or an edge-tap to turn pages, instead of the simple tap-anywhere gesture a real Kindle uses. The same review says it has no dark mode and runs noticeably slower than a phone, which limits how much multitasking it is really good for. It is also water-repellent rather than waterproof, and the base Palma 2 has no cellular connection and no stylus support. Both of those live only on the pricier Palma 2 Pro.

The X4’s limitation is simpler: if you currently read through library or subscription apps, or you need a front light, it is disqualified no matter how appealing $69 sounds. If your reading is entirely DRM-free files you already control and you read in ambient light, the Palma 2’s app ecosystem is $181 of capability you will never touch.

Buyer Scenarios

Match yourself to one of these six profiles, then buy accordingly.

The Specs, Side by Side

X4 specs from xteink.com; Palma 2 specs from shop.boox.com. Confirm current price and stock on each retailer’s page before buying.

The X4 this guide compares is discontinued (see above). Don’t buy an Xteink expecting a budget Palma. No apps, no camera, no touchscreen, and no front light.

Buy the Xteink X3 · $69 at xteink.com if you load your own files. Need Kindle, Libby, or a front light? Order the Boox Palma 2.

The X4 vs Kindle Paperwhite guide covers the other big comparison. The compact e-reader hub lines the pocket E Ink field up side by side. If you already picked the Xteink path, the X4 buy and flash guide applies to the X3 too.

Quick Answers Before You Buy

Sources And Notes

• “Can Xteink Use Libby? The Honest Answer”, PocketInk