This little magnetic e-reader can stop you from doomscrolling.

It was love at first sight. It felt like scouring a shopping mall, going in and out of a large department store looking for a specific, hard-to-find item, and finally finding what I wanted. However, I didn’t even know I was looking for something like the Xteink X3. Because I have never dared to dream of something so enjoyable. A small MagSafe-compatible e-ink reader that plugs into your iPhone like a Pop Socket.

This was it. My life will change forever. I will get my hands on the Xteink X3 and stop doomscrolling forever. I will read more books than ever before… This means something. Because – proudly – ​​I read at least 50 books a year. But – not to brag – I spend more time on social media than reading books. I know that limiting my social media time generally makes me less anxious, but alas, the siren song of TikTok tempts me. What if instead of opening social media, you could flip your phone over and read it on a tiny Kindle-like e-ink screen? Can this $80 device fix me?

I’ve been reading books on my phone (…or downloading them from AO3), immersing myself in a fictional world rather than the president’s posts threatening to wipe out entire countries. But something about looking at my phone where I’m constantly tempted to open Instagram to see what Reels someone sent me doesn’t soothe me the way a book or an e-ink device like a Kindle does.

I was so excited for my X3 to arrive that I kept refreshing the tracking link until it finally shipped. I meticulously compared the X3’s size to my iPhone 16 or Pop Socket wallet, but still worried it wouldn’t fit. Its predecessor, the Xteink X4 (basically the same device but slightly larger), only fits larger phones like the iPhone Pro Max line. But sure enough, the X3 magnetically attached to the back of my phone as if it had been custom-made to fit.

My X3 arrived in the mail about 2 hours before I was scheduled to leave for the Phillies game. So I quickly started loading the books. Because I thought it would be really fun to take a photo of someone reading “The Power Broker” in a crowded baseball stadium. Behold, my work:

For the first few days after purchasing the X3, I carried it around on the back of my phone. But I was a little nervous because I’m used to pop socket wallets. That means you’ve developed a habit of leaving home without your actual wallet. However, rather than attaching the X3 to my phone, I found that I only use it when carrying it in my wallet or pocket. I’m not sure yet if I’ll keep this setup as is, or if I’ll actually end up using a physical wallet so I can attach the ereader, but for now it feels the most natural. My X3 also came with a very small and cute magnetic case that perfectly protects the device and screen and makes it a little easier to hold. If the case costs $9, I highly recommend getting one. The case can also be magnetized to the phone, but it feels slightly less secure than attaching the X3 by itself.

After two weeks of testing, we found that the X3 helped us read more. If you’re standing in line at a coffee shop or waiting for the bus, just pull out your ereader instead of opening Instagram. Even the small screen wasn’t difficult to read. But buying a device doesn’t change your habits. You have to remember that you have a 3.7-inch screen in your pocket, enough to fit hundreds of books.

The Xteink X3 is pretty close to my dream device, but we’re not there yet. The firmware that comes with the device is pretty clunky. It’s not unusable, but it’s not exactly intuitive. I expected this because the Xteink Reddit community has been buzzing about CrossPoint, a free, community-created, open source firmware. The process of downloading CrossPoint was a little intimidating as someone who writes words rather than code, but it was easy enough if you followed the instructions on the CrossPoint website (and a few videos). At first I faced some difficulties but then I realized that the problem was because I was trying to download the X4 firmware on my X3. so… It’s a pity. You probably don’t need a YouTube video!

Once you start loading books and open source firmware into the X3, you’ll discover another divisive aspect of the device. Unlike the X4, there is no USB-C port. Instead, use a magnetic charger. Yes, it’s annoying to have another charging cable just for this device, but I don’t really care. After two weeks of consistent use, the X3’s charge dropped from 100% to 96%, so I can’t imagine I’ll be using the magnetic charger too often. You don’t even need any code to add a new book to your ereader. You can transfer files from your phone or computer via Wi-Fi (I can’t say this process is user-friendly, but I was able to figure it out without Googling it).

Speaking of putting books in, that’s another drawback. Most of what I read on Kindle comes from my favorite app, Libby (#notsponsored). The Libby app makes it easy to borrow ebooks or audiobooks from the library and send them to your Kindle. However, you can’t legally download that ebook to your Xteink ereader because the library uses a protected version of the .epub file that prevents users from copying it (and, because of capitalism, books you buy from the Amazon e-book store can’t be read on non-Amazon devices). This lack of compatibility is a drawback, but it also makes the device feel unique. It’s a “dumb” device with no apps and no touch screen, so it feels surprisingly refreshing in the age of AI-enabled refrigerators.

Even if you don’t have access to the Kindle library or Libby, it’s not difficult to find interesting .epub files to load on the X3. Many great books are in the public domain. That means it’s no longer under copyright and can be downloaded for free (oddly enough, I’ve never read “Pride and Prejudice,” so now would be a good time). A few months ago, I purchased the entire .epub catalog of science fiction authors Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz as part of a charity fundraiser, which must have kept me pretty busy. If you want, you can also use a free program like Caliber to convert your online articles or blogs to .epub.

So, did Xteink X3 fix me? Am I now a newly reformed woman with a healthy relationship with social media and a bunch of classic novels I never read as an English major? Is it because I mainly took classes with ridiculous titles like “Aestheticus Extremus: The Unsettled Politics of Invention in North American Poetry and Poetics”? It’s not that simple. But if you meet the X3 halfway and make a concerted effort to use it, you’ll probably be able to get away with some of the dumber ideas.