GoKawiilBrady Snyder / Android Authority
Digital ownership is partly an oxymoron, because in 2026, you’re buying access to digital content more often than purchasing the content itself. That’s true of subscription-based content, but it also extends to books, games, movies, or TV shows you’ve bought from many digital storefronts. If you can’t download purchased media offline without Digital Rights Management (DRM) restricting its use, you don’t own it.
I’ve been a Kindle user since the original model was passed down to me a few years post-launch, and I later upgraded to the Kindle DX and the Kindle Keyboard. I bought the Kindle Keyboard for the free 3G connectivity, which stopped working in 2021. Fast-forward to today, and all three Kindle models I once owned are officially unsupported.
I was past due for an e-reader upgrade, and I didn’t buy another Kindle — I grabbed a tiny MagSafe-compatible and DRM-free e-reader instead.
Would you buy a DRM-free e-reader like the Xteink X4? 21 votes Yes, I want full ownership of my e-books 71 % No, it's too hard to find DRM-free e-books 14 % Yes, DRM-free e-readers are more affordable 14 % No, Amazon's Kindle hardware is superior 0 %
I switched to this e-reader to start owning my e-books
Brady Snyder / Android Authority
Every Kindle model I’ve ever owned recently became unsupported. My old Kindle, Kindle DX, and Kindle Keyboard models have all become paperweights as of May 20. Kindle Store downloads no longer work, and attempting to reset or register these Kindles to a new account will render them unusable. To be fair, all affected Kindle models are over a decade old. I gave up on these Kindles before Amazon did.
It’s not a coincidence that the last Kindle I purchased came out in 2010. That was when the iPad launched, and I, like many others, left e-readers behind for digital tablets. Now, I’m coming back to e-readers. As it turns out, E-Ink displays are much better for reading than LCDs or OLEDs. I’m back on the e-reader hype train, but I’m jumping off the Kindle bandwagon. Although Amazon’s decision to ax support for older Kindles might not have affected me personally, that doesn’t mean I’m eager to buy e-books from a company that could shut off access to them on a whim.
Kindles were out of the question, but I quickly ruled out their most prominent competitors from Kobo and Boox. Their hardware appeared too similar to Amazon’s recent Kindles. I didn’t want a knockoff; I wanted something entirely different — and I found it in the Xteink X4.
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