In Honor of Prime Day, These Beloved Pocket-Sized E-Readers Are 20% Off.
Prime Day runs from June 23rd to 26th, and Lifehacker will be sharing the best deals based on product reviews, comparisons, and price tracking tools before it’s over.
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New to Prime Day? We’ve prepared a comprehensive guide for you, covering everything you need to know . Discount information is current at the time of publication, but prices and availability are subject to change.
Prime Day is usually a great time to buy a Kindle; it’s clearly in Amazon’s interest to make its own e-reader more appealing by offering deep discounts, since buying one commits you to buying content for it for years to come. But this year, I’d recommend skipping the trendy Paperwhite and investing in the Xteink X4 —an affordable, pocket-sized e-reader that’s gaining popularity. The Xteink X4 (and its even smaller sibling, the Xteink X3 ) are made by a young Chinese tech company. Released in late 2025, they quickly gained popularity among tech-savvy enthusiasts thanks to their simplicity and adaptability. Ditching now-standard features like a touchscreen, backlight, AI integration, and access to online stores, these little devices are simple e-readers designed to hold your books and nothing more. That’s why they’re so damn cheap, especially now that they’re 20% off for Prime Day: the X4 is on sale for $55 (regular price $69), and the X3 is now $63 (down from the regular $79).
I’ve tested both the X4 and X3 (the latter was released later; the numbers in the name actually refer to their screen sizes—4.3 and 3.7 inches, respectively), and I like them equally. Aside from a few differences in design and button placement, they’re virtually identical. They run on a very cheap chip and lack processing power and internal storage (there’s a microSD card slot instead), but they make up for it with adaptability (you can flash them with custom firmware if you don’t like the stock OS) and exceptional portability (seriously, the X3 is about the size of a library card).
As noted in my reviews linked above, these devices aren’t for everyone. Some may be put off by their small size, or feel unprepared to handle the technical challenges of loading books onto them (Xteink won’t be able to access your existing Kindle library or any e-reader apps, so you’ll need to know how to find EPUB files that don’t contain digital rights management software). But if you’re the type to experiment, they’re actually a lot of fun to use, thanks in large part to the active online community that has formed around them ( the Reddit forum r/xteinkereader has over 44,000 members, and there’s an entire website dedicated to how to install a new operating system on your device with one click).
Yes, a Kindle or Kobo are objectively more functional e-readers than any of the Xteink devices, but the best e-reader is the one you actually use. While I’ve tested numerous models, from the most expensive Kindles to the $400 Boox Palma 2 Pro, which is shaped like a phone, the Xteink X3 is the one I’ve been carrying around for the past six months. And given the current discount, I’m willing to bet the X4 or X3 will be one of the best buys you make this Prime Day.
Looking for something different? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are running Prime Day-style sales, which are especially helpful if you don’t have an Amazon Prime subscription.
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Walmart’s Prime Day sale runs from June 22nd to 28th and includes discounts of up to 50%. This is an especially great deal if you have a Walmart+ subscription.
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Best Buy’s Prime Day sale runs from June 22nd to 28th, offering some of the best deals on tech online. This is an especially great deal for My Best Buy Plus or Total members.
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Target’s Prime Day sale runs from June 23rd to 26th, with discounts up to 50%. Joining the Circle program is free.