Battery can be accessed by opening the device and it’s then just two soldered wires. Not ideal but fairly straightforward if needed

Have done some research and I see the xteink x4 seems decent. No backlight but has USB-C and they have an official partnership with Crosspoint. Only thing I’m unsure of is battery repair down the line

This looks like a good alternative to a kindle. What is the ‘best’ hardware available to run this on?

Thing is, the pinenote is €610, and the kindle paperwhite is £160, cheaper on discount.

I get your point and there’s a reason why the kindle is as cheap as it is, but I can understand why someone would see those prices and go for the kindle.