Fastcompany iconFastcompanySep 19, 2026 ~1 min source read

This gadget—and free software—makes e-reading fun again

At first blush, it sounds like a canonical example of a gizmo the world could live without. The device in question is a truly diminutive e-reader designed to snap magnetically to the back of your phone—you know, the one that can already run a variety of e-book apps.

This gadget—and free software—makes e-reading fun again

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At first blush, it sounds like a canonical example of a gizmo the world could live without.

The device in question is a truly diminutive e-reader designed to snap magnetically to the back of your phone—you know, the one that can already run a variety of e-book apps.

It has no direct access to an e-book store, complicating the essential task of procuring stuff to read.

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The useful part

At first blush, it sounds like a canonical example of a gizmo the world could live without. The device in question is a truly diminutive e-reader designed to snap magnetically to the back of your phone—you know, the one that can already run a variety of e-book apps. It has no direct access to an e-book store, complicating the essential task of procuring stuff to read.

How it works

  • its onboard software is so crude you might wonder if it was engineered to ensure buyer's remorse.
  • It turns out that yes, I do want to carry an e-reader in the same pocket as my phone.
  • The fact that they aren't hooked up to an e-book store turns out not to be a catastrophe.

Details worth keeping

Hello again, and welcome back to Fast Company's Plugged In. Yet I am delighted with the Xteink X4 Pro I bought last month.

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