Xteink X4 vs Boox Palma 2: $69 vs $250 Compared

Buy the Boox Palma 2 ($249.99) if your reading runs through apps like Kindle, Libby, Hoopla, or Everand. Buy the Xteink X4 ($69) if you read DRM-free files (files with no copy protection) that you load yourself. The $181 gap buys an Android app ecosystem, not a nicer version of the same reader.

One naming note first, because “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 actually selling at “Boox Palma” money right now is the Boox Palma 2: $249.99, a 6.13-inch Android E Ink device that runs the Google Play Store, and that is what this guide weighs against the Xteink X4.

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

Buy the Xteink X4 for the cheapest, lightest way to read files you already own; buy the Boox Palma 2 if you need real Android reading apps on E Ink. Here is the split at a glance:

Here’s the one-liner most “vs” pages skip: the Palma 2 isn’t a nicer e-reader, it’s a different category of device wearing an e-reader’s screen. It runs real Android apps. The X4 runs nothing but its own firmware. Whether that’s worth $181 depends entirely on whether you need what those apps unlock.

One update since this post was written: Xteink launched the X4 Pro on July 21, 2026 at $99. It adds the two features the base X4 lacks that matter most in this comparison, an adjustable warm/cool front light and a touchscreen, while staying on Xteink’s app-less XTOS. It does not change the app question (still no Kindle, Libby, or Play Store on any Xteink that ships), but if your reason for eyeing the Palma 2 was purely night reading, the price of fixing that is now $99, not $249.99.

What’s the Difference Between Xteink and Boox?

Xteink (maker of the X4) builds cheap, single-purpose E Ink readers; Onyx Boox (maker of the Palma 2) builds general-purpose Android E Ink devices. The Xteink X4 is an appliance that reads files you load; the Boox Palma 2 is an Android computer that happens to use paper-like E Ink instead of an LCD. They don’t compete on the same axis.

The Xteink X4 is a 4.3-inch, 220-PPI E Ink reader built on an ESP32 chip, with no touchscreen and no front light. It reads EPUB, TXT, JPG, and BMP files from a 16GB microSD card (expandable to 256GB), runs no third-party apps at all, and costs $69. It weighs 77 grams, runs on a small 650 mAh cell, and lasts days to weeks per charge depending on how much you read. It earned a real 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 genuine community firmware scene built around it.

The Boox Palma 2 is a 6.13-inch, 300-PPI Carta 1200 E Ink panel running full Android 13, with the Google Play Store built in. It has an octa-core chip, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage plus a microSD slot, a 16MP rear camera, a fingerprint sensor in the power button, and an adjustable dual-tone front light. It’s $249.99, weighs about 170 grams, and packs a 3,950 mAh battery to run all of that. It isn’t a dedicated reader with extra features bolted on; it’s a phone-shaped Android tablet first, and a reader second.

So the comparison is really: a $69 appliance that reads your own files vs a $250 Android device that runs every reading app you already have. Everything below follows from that.

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

The Xteink X4 is $181 cheaper: $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. That price gap isn’t proportional to “how much better the screen is.” It’s proportional to how much more device you’re buying: an entire Android computer, camera, and app ecosystem, not just a bigger reading surface.

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. That single biggest difference isn’t the screen; it’s that one of them runs apps and one doesn’t.

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 isn’t a lesser version of the Palma 2. It’s 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, so reading after dark means a lamp, a clip-on light, or stepping up to the front-lit $99 X4 Pro, and there’s no way to scan a document or take a photo. 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 isn’t a shortcoming; it’s proportional to 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 it 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, capacity notwithstanding. At 170 grams and 8.0mm thick, the Palma 2 also reads more like a phone in your hand than the 77-gram, 5.9mm-thin X4, which 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 isn’t 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, that it has no dark mode, and that it runs noticeably slower than a phone, which limits how much multitasking it’s really good for. It’s 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.

Buyer Scenarios

Match yourself to one of these six profiles, then buy accordingly. If you read through library or subscription apps, you’re a Palma 2 buyer; if you read DRM-free files you already own, you’re an X4 buyer.

Reduced to a rule: answer the app question first. If you read through Libby, Hoopla, Everand, Kindle, or any other app, buy the Boox Palma 2, because the Xteink X4 has no app store and cannot open any of it. If your books are DRM-free files you already own, name your real goal (“cheapest, lightest pocket reader” or “a device to flash and tinker with” both point to the X4; “one Android device for every reading app” or “a camera and a sharper, lit screen” both point to the Palma 2), then check the dealbreakers: no apps, camera, front light, or touchscreen on the X4, versus $181 more, more weight, and a sealed Android build on the Palma 2. Whichever survives both checks is your answer.

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.

Final Verdict

The Xteink X4 vs Boox Palma 2 decision isn’t about which device is “better.” It’s about whether you need an app store at all:

• Buy the Boox Palma 2 ($249.99) if your reading runs through Kindle, Libby, Hoopla, Everand, or any other app, or if you want a sharper, lit, touch screen and a real camera in an E Ink body. It’s the only one of these two that can open any of that.
• Buy the Xteink X4 ($69) if your reading is DRM-free files you already own, and you want the cheapest, lightest way to read them with nothing to log into. Ready to set it up? Start with the X4 buy & flash guide.
• Don’t buy the X4 expecting a cheap Palma. No apps, no camera, no front light, no touchscreen. It’s a private, single-purpose reader for files you supply, not a budget Android device; judge it on that one job, not on apps it was never built to run.

Buy the Xteink X4 · $69 at xteink.com  or get the front-lit X4 Pro at $99 instead.

Still weighing the options? The X4 vs Kindle Paperwhite guide covers the other big comparison, the X3 vs X4 guide sorts the small Xteink models, and the compact e-reader hub lines the whole pocket-E-Ink field up side by side, and the X4 vs S4 vs X4 V2 Pro guide weighs the newer Xteink models against it.

Quick Answers Before You Buy

Sources And Notes

• Official Xteink X4 product page
• Official Boox Palma 2 product page
• Official Boox Palma 2 Pro product page
• Good e-Reader: Onyx Boox announces the Palma 2 Pro
• Good e-Reader: the first non-Kindle e-reader to crack Amazon’s top-10
• Bookmark Lit: Boox Palma review and first impressions as a Kindle user
• “Can Xteink Use Libby? The Honest Answer” — PocketInk