I thought the same thing until I got a kindle. It just feels different. The eink display is really nice to look at.

As I said, I have a kindle :).

I'm specifically wondering about the X4, which is the size of a phone, meant to be attached to the phone, but it's not a phone and crucially no backlight. Does it specifically fill a situation for people who don't want to carry a phone but will carry this? Or, for people who might carry x4 and a smart phone, why read on the x4?

Thx!

It's way smaller than modern phones, though - I clip mine to the back of my Samsung (magsafe case) and it only blocks one of the five cameras. (phone: 288g xtelink x4: 75g.)

(also: hasn't the x4-v2 already been announced that is supposed to have a frontlight?)

(having it right there mostly serves as a physical token/reminder that I don't want to get sucked in to my social media and other phone apps as much, so if I'm just using it to fill "politely waiting" time I can just grab the x4 instead. I also have a trivial pandoc-generated epub todo list as the first document, though that would work better as a crosspoint fork/feature really...)

You read on a phone and on a tablet, so the X4 probably isn't for you. I hate reading for long periods on LCD screens. I have to do it all day at work and I don't want to do it at home. I read on a kindle unless I really need a computer screen for photos or graphs. I am just not going to pull out my phone to read a book, so an X4 sized device makes it easier to have a book with me. Since phone reading doesn't bother you, I doubt you would get much out of an X4.

it's pocketable!

that's the main for me: i also have a kobo and bringing it around with me is just too damn annoying.

being able to pocket this thing and read anywhere one handed is so nice.

- The e-ink screen is great for reading. The feeling of ink on paper it produces cannot be replicated on any other screen. Not to my satisfaction.

- The microcontroller is so weak that you cannot add crappy features like more powerful e-readers are wont to do. This produces minimal distraction-free UIs. No messaging, no browsing.

- The form factor is the biggest win. It fits in a pocket and is great for the 5-10m you find when traveling or waiting somewhere. I cannot carry e-readers that way.

- It is great for fiction, and text-heavy non-fiction: history, philosophy etc. Stuff with a lot of images, tables, code blocks etc ... nope.

Less distractions, yes, but mainly it's the size and e-ink display.

A single-function book is your window to the world. A phone is the world's window to you.

I kinda prefer oled screens so for me a foldable phone is much nicer than a kindle. Especially at night.

I won't hesitate to give this to my children, in a year or two when they are reading more fluently and don't need lots of pictures.

Price is also a factor here!

it is small, has absolutely no possibility to distractions like phone. none.

I carry my phone and my X4 in the same pocket. Whenever I feel like doom-scrolling, I take out the X4 and read a chapter in a book instead. It is excellent for taking back time to read that I lose to my phone.

Sure I could read the same book on my phone, but it takes multiple steps to open the e-reader app on my phone. On top of that, there are half a dozen other things I could open on my way to opening up my e-reader app. With X4, I press the button on the side and I'm reading.

Is it the best ereader? Not at all. Reading whitepapers or programming books on it is a fools errand. It is great for anything that is mostly text. Novels are amazing on it. I've keep up with my read it later backlog by saving URLs with the Obsidian ReadItLater plugin and then using pan to convert the collection of markdown into an epub file.

The battery life is amazing. I've charged it once since getting on 3/27. I've read about 1500 pages (5 novels) since I got it (albeit I've stalled out in June by trying to finish a book I'm not too into).

It is a great compliment to a 10" tablet. Whereas a 7" reader tends to stay at home due to its size, the X4 gets tossed in my pocket and comes everywhere with me.