A charging port rarely decides a purchase, but this one did. XTEINK, a small maker of pocket-sized E Ink readers, removed the USB-C port from its cheapest model and replaced it with magnetic pogo pins. Buyers pushed back hard enough that the company reversed course in public on September 10, 2026 and said USB-C is coming back. The story is worth following even if you’ll never buy an XTEINK, because e-reader USB-C is also a legal question. A European rule names the category directly.
What XTEINK said, and when
The X4 Classic went on sale at 79 dollars on XTEINK’s own site in early September 2026. It reached the company’s Amazon storefront on September 12, at first in one color. It charges through a magnetic pogo connection.
XTEINK had already moved the smaller X3 and the newer X4 Pro to pogo pins. Once the X4 Classic launched, no current XTEINK model had USB-C at all. The company’s founder explained on Reddit that the change let the readers be thinner and lighter, but the complaints kept growing.
On September 10 the company published an update that reads, in part: some of you really value having the thinnest and lightest device possible, while others would rather accept a little more thickness for USB-C and a more convenient everyday experience. It added that not everyone should have to make the same trade-off, which means XTEINK plans to offer both. The statement came with no model names, dates or prices.
Inside the X4 Classic
The device explains why weight mattered so much to its designers. It has a 4.3-inch E Ink screen, weighs roughly 68 grams, and drops both the touchscreen and the front light. Navigation runs through front and side buttons, and a shake gesture turns pages for one-handed reading, which you can switch off. Inside sit an ESP32-S3 processor and a 920 mAh battery, with 16 GB of storage and a microSD slot. It reads EPUB, TXT, MOBI and PDF, and it carries Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
At 68 grams this is a different class of object from a Kindle or a Kobo. Shaving a millimeter and a few grams is a real design goal at that size, and a USB-C receptacle is one of the thicker components in a very thin shell. So the engineering argument was not invented after the fact.
What the EU charger rule says about e-readers
Directive (EU) 2022/2380, the common charger directive, lists thirteen categories of radio equipment in Part I of Annex Ia. E-readers are category 1.8, between portable speakers and keyboards.
Devices in every listed category must be equipped with the USB Type-C receptacle described in the standard EN IEC 62680-1-3:2021, as long as they can be recharged by wired charging. Anything that draws more than 5 volts, 3 amperes or 15 watts must also support USB Power Delivery. A 920 mAh e-reader won’t come anywhere near that.
The rules have applied since December 28, 2024 for categories 1.1 to 1.12, which include e-readers. Laptops followed on April 28, 2026. A separate obligation requires sellers to let buyers get the device without a charging brick.
The directive has no exemption for products too small to fit the port. If a device charges over a wire, the receptacle must be USB Type-C.
A pogo-pin reader under the EU rule
Magnetic pogo charging is wired charging, since the current travels down a cable to metal contacts. A pogo-only e-reader placed on the European market would run straight into the USB-C requirement.
XTEINK hasn’t said whether it places these models on the EU market through an authorized route. Small brands often sell worldwide through their own web shops and marketplace listings. The directive binds equipment placed on the EU market and doesn’t cover a device someone imports privately for personal use. National market surveillance authorities handle enforcement, so the picture varies by country. Still, the rule names e-readers and has applied to them since December 2024. A proprietary charging contact is hard to square with it.
The cost of a proprietary connector
A proprietary connector turns the cable into a part only one supplier sells, so losing it on a trip means waiting for a replacement from one shop. You could borrow a USB-C cable from anybody in the room. Travel also means one more cable in the bag. Resale and long-term support depend on that supplier still selling the accessory years later.
A pogo connection can carry data, but it doesn’t have to, which matters if you sideload EPUBs over a cable. The published material doesn’t say whether the X4 Classic’s contacts pass data as well as power, so that’s the first thing to ask a seller before buying.
The case for pogo pins
Removing a receptacle frees internal depth in a reader sold on its thinness. A sealed shell with exposed contacts is also simpler to protect against dust and splashes than an open port, although XTEINK hasn’t published an ingress rating. Magnetic attachment suits a reader you keep clipping to a backplate.
Weigh those against a cable you already own. For most buyers that comparison ends quickly, which is roughly what XTEINK heard.
Questions to ask before buying a cheap e-reader
Does the reader charge over USB-C, and if not, what exactly ships in the box? Does the charging connection also transfer files, or does sideloading depend on Wi-Fi? Is a replacement cable sold separately, and at what price? And does the reader reach you through a seller inside your own market? That’s what decides whether local consumer rules apply.
If the answers get vague, a mainstream compact reader takes the question off the table. The BOOX Go 7, for example, charges over standard USB-C and takes any cable you already carry, though it costs more and weighs more.
Why a charging port made the news
A 79 dollar reader with no front light and no touchscreen is a niche product, and its connector would normally be a footnote. It made news because the industry spent a decade converging on one port, and buyers now treat that as settled. European regulation has backed that view for e-readers since December 2024. XTEINK’s reversal suggests the market reached the same conclusion without waiting to be told.
