Deals: HomePod for $299.99, iPhone SE Free With AT&T Next, and New MacRumors Exclusive RAVPower Sale

Well-known accessory company RAVPower has launched a new series of promo codes this week, available exclusively to MacRumors readers. This crop of codes includes savings on fast wireless charging mats, portable chargers, and car chargers, all of which we’ve listed below. If you find something you like be sure to make your purchase before the codes expire in one month, on Sunday, September 2 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Note: It appears that Amazon will occasionally default the seller option to a third-party and not Sunvalley Brands (RAVPower’s parent company). To ensure that the codes work, double check that the displayed seller is Sunvalley Brands, and if it isn’t then click the “Used & New” button at the top of the product page, find Sunvalley Brands, and then click Add to Cart.

• 40W Dual USB Car Charger – $10.49 with code RUMORSVC7, down from $13.99

• 10,000 mAh Portable Solar Charger – $19.99 with code RUMORS10K, down from $29.99

• Fast Wireless Charger with HyperAir – $21.99 with code RUMORS134, down from $29.99

• 16,750 mah Portable Charger – $21.99 with code RUMORSPB010, down from $34.99

• 20,000 mAh USB Battery Pack – $26.99 with code RUMORSPB006, down from $39.99

• 25,000 mAh Portable Solar Charger – $39.99 with code RUMORS25K, down from $52.99

• 26,800 mAh USB-C Portable Charger – $45.99 with code RUMORSPB006, down from $58.99

In other deals, Costco today kicked off a notable sale for its members on Apple’s HomePod smart speaker, marking the device down to $299.99 in White and Space Gray, from a regular price of $349.99. While HomePod has been available at a cheaper price point thanks to sitewide sales at eBay and other retailers, this is one of the lowest straight discounts for a new version of the smart speaker we’ve seen, particularly compared to its current full retail price at places like Best Buy and Walmart.

At AT&T, customers can get the iPhone SE 32GB for free when they buy the smartphone on AT&T Next and add a new line of service onto their plan. AT&T says this is a limited-time offer and is not available for customers upgrading from an existing smartphone. Head over to AT&T to find out more information on the offer before it expires.

As the new school year approaches, more companies are opening up back-to-school sales for customers and today the latest addition to this list is Brydge. Under this sale, users can get the Brydge 9.7 for iPad at $99.99, down from $129.99, and the Brydge 7.9 for iPad mini at $39.99, down from $99.99. Check out Brydge’s back-to-school sale page for the full list of discounted items, also including portable batteries, cases, and more.

Lastly, Best Buy has a nice deal of the day going on today for anyone looking to add another Bluetooth speaker into their home, with the retailer marking down the Beats Pill+ to $113.99, compared to its $129.99 price tag at places like Target and Walmart.

Anyone who is interested in jumping into the Alexa ecosystem — or add more products to their existing set-up — should also take a look at Best Buy’s 2-day Amazon sale, with savings on Echo Show ($129.99, down from $229.99), 2nd-Gen Echo ($69.99, down from $99.99), Fire TV Cube ($89.99, down from $119.99), and more.

Head over to our full Deals Roundup for more of this week’s ongoing sales and discounts.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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Dual-SIM Dual Standby Feature May Be Limited to Version of 6.1-Inch iPhone Available Only in China

Rumors have suggested Apple is planning to introduce dual-SIM dual standby functionality in some 2018 iPhone models, which would allow two SIM cards to be used at once, but it appears this functionality could perhaps be limited to China.

According to a new report from Taiwanese site Economic Daily News [Google Translate], a Foxconn source has suggested the dual-SIM dual standby feature will available in a version of the 6.1-inch low-cost LCD iPhone that’s “a unique model for China.”

Dummy models depicting design of Apple’s three rumored 2018 iPhones
Production on the new iPhones slated for a September debut is well underway, with Foxconn employees suggesting Apple is producing four unique model numbers (801, 802, 803, and 804) for the upcoming iPhones, hinting at the extra two SIM model. The site suggests that 801 and 802 correspond to the 5.8 and 6.5-inch iPhones, while the latter two numbers are for separate 6.1-inch LCD iPhones.

Economic Daily News says that Apple is planning to introduce a dual-SIM dual standby iPhone in China because it is common for people in China to have more than one mobile phone number. As many as three to four billion consumers use dual SIM cards, and many smartphones in China already offer support for more than one SIM card. To remain competitive in the Chinese market and lure customers from Android devices, Apple also needs to support the feature.

Respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also suggested that Apple is working on two 6.1-inch iPhone models for launch in 2018, one with dual-SIM dual standby and a second with a single SIM. While he suggested Apple might make the dual-SIM dual standby model more expensive, he did not indicate that it would be limited to China.

Kuo believes that Apple could price the dual-SIM dual standby 6.1-inch iPhone at $650 to $750, while selling the single SIM model at a lower price, perhaps $550 to $650. Both models would also be sold alongside more expensive OLED models in 5.8 and 6.5-inch sizes, for a three-iPhone lineup.

In past notes targeted at investors, Kuo has also said that the 6.5-inch iPhone could include dual-SIM dual standby, but today’s report from Economic Daily News does not mention the possibility.

A separate rumor from the Chinese supply chain has indicated that 2018 iPhones will feature both an embedded Apple SIM and a traditional SIM card tray, so it’s possible that dual-SIM dual standby will be available in non-Chinese devices through this implementation method. The Apple SIM is not available in China, so China would require a separate device with two physical SIM slots.

If this is the plan, though, it is not clear why Apple is not also producing a 6.5-inch iPhone with physical dual-SIM dual standby functionality for China, as plus-sized iPhones are highly popular in the country.

Past rumors suggest the upcoming 2018 iPhone models will use Intel’s XMM 7560 modem chips for faster LTE speeds than are available in the current crop of devices. There were some rumors indicating Apple might also use Qualcomm’s X20 modems, but Qualcomm recently said that Apple will not be using Qualcomm chips in its 2018 iPhone lineup.

Apple’s specific plan for the SIM situation in the 2018 iPhones is a bit murky at this point based on the different rumors we’ve heard, but the new devices are expected to debut in just about six weeks if Apple sticks to its traditional September event, so we don’t have too much longer to wait to find out just what Apple has in store for iPhones in 2018.

Related Roundup: 2018 iPhones
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Following trailblazer OnePlus, Realme becomes a real smartphone brand

A new smartphone brand has emerged, and although this in itself isn’t unusual, it’s the company’s origins that make it worthy of your attention. Realme is its name, and despite having already launched its debut phone, it only established itself as a standalone company at the beginning of August. Realme’s founder is Sky Li, the former vice president in charge of international mobile business at smartphone company Oppo.

It’s this connection that makes Realme of particular interest. The last time two Oppo alumni got together to form a smartphone company, we ended up with OnePlus, and since that time in 2014, we have continued to be impressed by its smartphones. While there’s no guarantee Realme will have the same eventual impact as OnePlus, its beginnings make it noteworthy, and its early performance shows potential for the future.

Established as a company on May 4, 2018, Li published an open letter on Facebook introducing the brand on July 30, outlining his vision for creating devices aimed at young people, emphasizing style and technology. This reminds us of Honor’s modus operandi, which has allowed it to find considerable success. No one has to wait for Realme’s first phone either, as it has been released already. The Realme 1 hit India in May, and the first batch sold out in two minutes. The brand has since gone on to capture a1.4-percent market share in India.

The Realme 1 costs the equivalent of $200, for which you get a MediaTek Helio octa-core processor, 6GB of RAM, a 6-inch screen with a 2,160 x 1,080 pixel resolution, and a 13-megapixel rear camera. The phone runs Android 8.1, and interestingly comes with ColorOS over the top, which is Oppo’s custom user interface used on its own range of devices. When OnePlus launched, it did so with a device that was available only online (as is true today) and with the Android-based Cyanogen OS software onboard; but it caused controversy with its invitation system at the time.

How about Realme’s further plans? According to the company, the next phone will also launch in India, with further launches in other Asian countries coming over the remainder of 2018. It’s not committing to any time frame for the U.S, the U.K., or Europe; but does indicate a global presence is possible, and says it wants to build a “solid foundation” in each country where its products are sold.

For now, we’re unlikely to be able to easily buy a Realme phone; but all that could change in the future. It will be interesting to follow the company’s progress, and see if lightning can strike twice in the smartphone world.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• When is your phone getting Android 8.0 Oreo? We asked every major manufacturer

Apple found guilty of infringing WiLan patents, must pay $145 million

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Apple was ordered by a California jury on Wednesday, August 1, to pay WiLan, a Canadian patent licensing company, a sum of $145.1 million for damages as a result of patent infringement. The jury backed up WiLan’s claims that some of Apple’s iPhone models infringed on two WiLan wireless communications technology patents.

The patent infringement concerns technology used in Apple’s iPhones, specifically patents concerning “a method and apparatus for allocating bandwidth in a broadband wireless communication system” (U.S. patent 8457145), and another patent concerning “communication systems and to systems and methods for implementing adaptive call admission control” (U.S. patent 8537757). Apple apparently intends to appeal the decision, which likely means the case will bounce around courts for a little while yet.

This is not the first time the two companies have butted heads over patents. In 2013, a Texas jury found Apple not guilty of infringing on another of WiLan’s patents — that time over a patent covering CMDA and HSPA wireless communication technologies.

WiLan, a Quarterhill company, was originally founded in the 1990s as a producer of broadband wireless technologies, but shifted over to licensing its large portfolio of patents in 2013, after some financial difficulties. WiLan styles itself as being “one of the most successful patent licensing companies in the world”, and that it “helps companies unlock the value of intellectual property by managing and licensing their patent portfolios.” However, other sources have gone as far as to suggest that WiLan now makes a living by successfully chasing down companies like Apple over patent issues.

Of course, Apple is no stranger to legal issues over patents. Apple’s and Samsung’s seven-year tussle over the status of patents in Samsung’s Android phones has only just ended, while another case concerning the dual-camera tech in the current line of iPhones is currently ongoing. It has faced even more serious threats than just other companies too, and Apple is facing possible further challenges from the French government. Apple has taken to the offensive in other cases, suing processor manufacturer Qualcomm over allegedly exorbitant royalty fees.

We have reached out to Apple and WiLan for comment on this case and will update if we hear back.

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Xiaomi is making a super-cheap feature phone with A.I. and 4G

In something of a surprise move, Xiaomi announced a new feature phone for the Chinese market. Launched through a crowdfunding campaign, the Xiaomi Qin phone will come with access to A.I., a 4G antenna, and a USB-C port — all for just 199 Chinese yuan (about $30).

Pronounced “shin”, the Qin features a T9 keypad, a 2.8-inch screen running a 320 x 240 resolution, and an extremely retro design that harkens back to the golden age of Nokia’s 8810 phone. Like the 2018 reboot of Nokia’s phone, the Qin will have access to some artificial intelligence capabilities (including real-time translation, according to some sources), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 4G connectivity on some models.

The Xiaomi Qin will come in two models. The first, the Qin 1, is the lower powered of the two models, with a MediaTek MT6260A chipset, a single ARM7 CPU core, 8MB of RAM, and 16MB of storage. Yup, that’s MB, not GB. The Qin 1 will only have access to 2G networks, and not have access to GPS or LTE, but it will have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity. It will run on an operating system known as “Nucleus”.

The second, more powerful handset is the Qin 1s, which sports a Spreadtrum SC9820 chipset, two 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 cores, and a comparatively mighty 256MB of RAM and 512MB of onboard storage. The Qin 1s has access to 4G networks and GPS, and will run on an operating system only referred to as “MOCOR5.” Aside from sounding like one of Captain America’s villains, there is little else known about this OS.

Both handsets will be equipped with a 1480mAh battery that Xiaomi claims will last up to 15 days between charges, making the USB-C charging seem like serious overkill, and also comes with dual-SIM support, an infrared zapper, and a bunch of other features.

The biggest difference between this and other feature phones? Neither model of the Qin phone has a camera on the front or back, or a headphone jack. Those are both major departures for the feature phone crowd and it’s interesting that Xiaomi felt neither were needed any longer.

The Xiaomi Qin is only currently available as a part of the crowdfunding campaign, and will likely never surface outside of China. However, it’s made some of a splash there — the crowdfunding campaign apparently hit 1 million yuan (about $146,000) within an hour of going live, passing the funding target a few times over.

The Qin 1 is available from just 199 Chinese yuan (about $30), while upgrading to the Qin 1s takes the price up to 299 Chinese yuan (about $45). The phone will release on September 15.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Intel backs the U.S. government’s new bill for advancing quantum science

Intel said on Thursday, August 2, that it backs the National Quantum Initiative Act, a bipartisan bill to create a 10-year coordinated federal plan to advance quantum science research and ensure the nation’s leadership in this field. This bill aims to expand the number of researchers, educators, and students, create additional facilities and centers, stimulate research, and so on.

The U.S. Senate is reviewing its version of the bill this week (S.3143) following an approval of a version in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 6227) in June. Both state that the President will establish a National Quantum Coordination Office that will conduct public outreach, oversee the coordination of the program, promote the activities related to the program, and more.

“As nations around the world race to lead in quantum information science, the U.S. will require collaboration of industry, academia and the federal government to keep pace,” Intel’s director of quantum hardware Jim Clarke said in a statement. “The National Quantum Initiative Act is a great step forward, and Intel applauds the bipartisan leadership in Congress on their progress.”

Intel is definitely no stranger to the quantum information science field. The company entered into a 10-year relationship with the Delft University of Technology and TNO, the Dutch Organization for Applied Research, in 2015. This relationship included a $50 million investment, “significant” engineering resources and dedicated technical support to advance quantum computing.

Intel also just introduced its “Tangle Lake” processor in January, a 3-inch-square test chip that contains 49 quantum bits (aka qubits), which are units of quantum information. A quantum bit is different than your standard bit in that it can be both a one and a zero at the same time. That means it can hold more information than the typical single-digit bit.

Just three months prior to introducing its Tangle Lake chip, Intel delivered a 17-qubit test chip to its quantum research partner QuTech. Thus, in that three-month timeframe, Intel generated a processor with more than double the qubit count. According to Intel, it’s an example of the fast progression Intel and QuTech are making towards a quantum computing system.

The Committee of Science, Space and Technology believes quantum information science is critical to the nation’s economy and national security, hence the new bill. It will create “new opportunities” in communications, cybersecurity, financial services, medicine, transportation, and so on. The committee also believes the nation needs to develop quantum communications technology first for “powerful decoding capabilities” and “completely secure networks.”

“Recognizing the promise of this groundbreaking technology, China and the European Union are investing billions of dollars in new research facilities and equipment,” the committee states. “China, in particular, has stated publicly its national goal of surpassing the U.S. in quantum computing during the next decade.”

The legislation will “encourage” companies that are investing in quantum computing to share their knowledge and resources to the government.

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The Trident scooter promises to propel you through the waves like a boss

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It used to be that a day at the beach required a pair of swim trunks or equivalent, a picnic, and maybe a shovel and bucket if you really wanted to go the extra mile. That was before the recent wave of underwater jet packs, drones, and assorted other gadgets that turn a day lying on the sand into some kind of high-tech James Bond mission. (Remember to watch out for the suspicious villainous henchmen who are sunbathing in full clothing, and likely sport some sartorial flourish like an eye patch, hook hand, or very unhappy white cat.)

Adding to this growing genre of water-based gizmos is the so-called Trident, an “underwater scooter” which lets scuba divers, snorkelers, and secret agents propel themselves through the depths with a maximum of 26 pounds of thrust. This translates into your choice of either 2.2 or 4.3 mph. The top speed isn’t significantly faster than the average person’s swimming speed (supposedly around 3.7 mph), but it does mean that you won’t have to worry about the strenuous activity of actually swimming. Also, thanks to an hour’s charge, courtesy of Trident’s 24V/6,000-mAh lithium battery pack, you should be able to keep up the pace for a lot longer than your average swimmer.

“Trident helps people get rid of underwater restrictions,” Joey Han, overseas PR manager for manufacturers Geneinno, told Digital Trends. “Even for people who [aren’t confident about swimming] can cruise through water like a mermaid or dolphin with the help of Trident.”

While we certainly wouldn’t encourage weak swimmers to propel themselves too far into the deep using a device like this, Trident nonetheless looks like an innovative device. We also suggest that anyone hoping to use this for diving is aware of the potential pressure-related risks associated.

As ever, we offer our usual warnings about the potential perils of crowdfunding campaigns. It’s also worth noting that Geneinno has previously had one (as yet undelivered) successful crowdfunding campaign for the Titan underwater drone, which is scheduled to ship in September. Nonetheless, if you do want to get involved with the Trident campaign, head over to Indiegogo and register your interest. The campaign hasn’t officially started yet, although you can drop your email address to be sent a notification when it does begin. Prices are set to start at $299, which we’re told is 50 percent off the recommended retail price.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Want an extra arm? A third thumb? Check out these awesome robotic appendages

3D printing and robotics technology are responsible for some amazing work creating artificial limbs for people who have lost theirs. But what if you’re the greedy sort who wants, say, an extra arm, instead of just two? What if the idea of going through the rest of your life without a third leg is simply unimaginable? Don’t worry: technologists are ready to cater for you, too.

Here are five of the most fascinating extra appendages that exist in research labs right now:

Supernumerary Robotic Limbs

Perhaps inspired by the additional mechanical arms worn by Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus, researchers at MIT have created a set of wearable devices called Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRL). Whether you’ve dreamed of having additional arms or extra legs, this could be the project for you.

“These robotic limbs can move independently from the natural arms and legs of the user, and therefore enable the execution of entirely new, complex tasks that would be impossible with only the four natural limbs,” researcher Federico Parietti told Digital Trends. “The SRL can also coordinate with the user in order to improve the performance or the safety of normal tasks.”

Possible use-cases include everything from handing workers tools or securing them to scaffolding, to helping elderly people to walk and avoid falls.

MetaLimbs

It’s a familiar situation: You’re tapping away with both hands at your laptop, when suddenly your phone rings. Do you momentarily stop what you’re doing, and reach over to pick up the handset lying directly next to you on the desk? Of course not: You get your robotic arms to scoop it up and hold it by your ear so you can type and talk at the same time.

Or, at least, that’s what you’ll do if the MetaLimbs created by University of Tokyo’s Inami Laboratory ever catch on. Controlled by a user’s feet and knees, the MetaLimbs allow users to move a pair of artificial robo-limbs around and even grasp objects — such as phones — with them.

Of course, you could just use the loudspeaker function your phone comes with, but where’s the high-tech fun in that?

DoubleHand

We live in an age of global competition and 24/7 capitalism, in which the big winners are the ones who can carry out astounding feats of round-the-clock productivity. In such a world, having one hand on each arm simply isn’t enough. Fortunately, Italian “augmented human” startup YouBionic has stepped up to the plate with the introduction of (you guessed it!) its Double Hand prosthesis.

Powered by Arduino, the 3D-printed hands are attached to a gauntlet that’s worn by the operator. By moving individual fingers at different speeds, the user is able to control each robotic hand separately. There’s a bit of a learning curve involved to figure out all the movements the hands are capable of — but your boss will certainly appreciate the 100 percent increase in productivity that (presumably) results.

Brain-controlled limbs

For supernumerary limbs to really find widespread usage, one thing they’ll need is an intuitive control system. That’s something researchers from the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute in Kyoto, Japan have been working on. Their idea? A way to allow the control of a robotic third arm using mind control.

This is achieved by using electrodes attached to the user’s head to capture their brain activity, and turn it into movement commands. Using this technique, it’s possible for the user to do one thing with their biological arms, while carrying out a second, robo-assisted activity simultaneously.

“In our experiments, we used a human-like robot arm for participants to grasp a bottle, while they did a different task [of] balancing a ball,” Christian Penaloza, a researcher on the project, told Digital Trends. “[In terms of real-world applications] we could think of future use cases for this particular system, such as future construction or manufacturing workers who can use a third arm to increase their productivity, or even astronauts in space. However, the applications do not have to be limited to a robotic arm. Perhaps in the future, we could use the system to control other devices — household devices, cell phones, or machinery — while we do another task.”

Third Thumb

Want to get an extra appendage, but not quite ready to make the leap to an arm, or even an extra hand? No problem: a graduate student at London’s Royal College of Art (RCA) has created a functioning prosthetic third thumb you can control with your feet.

The prosthesis’ motors are controlled via two pressure sensors retrofitted into the wearer’s shoes, which then send instructions via Bluetooth. With one sensor controlling flexion and extension, and the other controlling the thumb’s adduction and abduction, you can mimic… well, just about anything a thumb can ordinarily good. Perfect for those movies so good that a simple “two thumbs up” just won’t suffice.

“The Third Thumb investigates the relationship between the body and prosthetic technology in new ways,” creator Dani Clode told Digital Trends. “It is part tool, part experience, and part self-expression; a model by which we better understand human response to artificial extensions.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• Brain-controlled third arm lets you take your multitasking to the next level
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• MIT’s Cheetah 3 robot doesn’t need sight to navigate stairs
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Google Maps’ location sharing now lets you track battery status

In addition to finding directions or transit information, Google Maps allows users to share their location with others — making it easier to meet up with friends and family.  But now, you’ll be able to share a bit more information. First spotted by Android Police, Google has rolled out a new feature within the app — the ability to share your battery level.

To share your location in Google Maps, all you need to do is tap and hold on any location to drop a pin. Then, tap the address section at the bottom of the screen to expand it and tap the “Share” button. It will then show up on the recipient’s map, and they’ll be able to follow directions to the location you’re at.

With the new feature, you’ll be able to see a friend or family member’s battery status whenever their location is shared with you. The battery level is displayed right next to where it shows how far away they are. Whenever Google Maps updates the person’s location, their current battery percentage is updated along with it to give you the exact amount.

Android Police first discovered the feature back in February, but it wan’t this specific. Instead, it showed a range of what someone’s battery was between — “Brian’s battery level is between 50 percent and 75 percent and is charging.” Now, it appears to give users an exact percentage and will also indicate if the person is charging their device.

But the feature might only be new to some — meaning Google could be quietly rolling it out in different locations at separate times. One of our own writers at Digital Trends has been using the feature for a few months now, and a few Redditors mentioned that they’ve also had access to it for quite some time.

Regardless, the feature is at this point rolling out to all users and should be available on your device soon. It’s definitely handy for those times when you’re waiting for a friend or family member and are worrying why they’re not answering their phone. You’ll now be able to reference Google Maps to ease the situation a little bit. In terms of privacy, though, it doesn’t look like there’s a way to turn the feature on or off.

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10 basic Android terminal commands you should know

You don’t have to be a software developer to know your way around the Android Debug Bridge.

For a lot of us, the fact that we can plug our Android phone into a computer and interact with it is a big plus. Besides the times when we’ve broken something and need to fix it, there are plenty of reasons why an advanced Android user would want to talk to their device. To do that, you need to have a few tools and know a few commands. That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

Granted, this won’t be the end-all be-all discussion of adb commands, but there are 10 basic commands everyone should know if they plan to get down and dirty with the command line.

You’ll need some tools and getting them is easy. Head on over to the Android developer’s site. You can either install the full Android Studio package if you want extra debugging tools or you can scroll down to the bottom of the page and download just the command line tools. Unless you’re developing or debugging something on or for your phone, you’ll want just the command line tools.

Installing the SDK on your computer

Installing the command line tools without the full SDK

If you’re using Windows, there’s one more step. Visit the manufacturer’s page for your device and install the adb and fastboot drivers for Windows. You’ll need this so that your computer can talk to your Android device. If you hit a snag (Windows can be fickle) visit the forums and somebody is bound to be able to help you through it.

Now that we’re all on the same page, enable USB debugging on your device (see your devices manual if you need help finding it) and plug your phone into your computer.

Here we go.

1. The adb devices command

The adb devices command is the most important one of the bunch, since it’s used to make sure your computer and Android device are communicating. That’s why we’re covering it first.

If you’re a pro at the operating system on your computer, you’ll want to add the directory with the Android tools to your path. If you’re not, no worries. Just start up your terminal or command console and point it where you put the extracted tools you downloaded above.

Once you’re sure that you are in the right folder, type adb devices at the command prompt. If you get a serial number, you’re good to go! If you don’t, make sure you’re in the right folder and that you have the device driver installed correctly if you’re using Windows. And be sure you have USB debugging turned on!

Now that we have everything set up, let’s look at a few more commands.

2. The adb push command

If you want to move a file onto your Android device programmatically, you want to use the adb push command. You’ll need to know a few parameters, namely the full path of the file you’re pushing, and the full path to where you want to put it. In the picture above I’m pushing a song from my Music folder on my desktop to the music folder on my phone.

Notice the slashes in the file path and the quotes around the path on my computer in the command. Windows uses as a directory switch in a file path and Unix uses /. Because the file name has spaces and special characters (I renamed it this way on purpose!) you need to encase the path in quotes.

3. The adb pull command

If adb push sends files to your Android device, it stands to reason the adb pull command would pull them out.

That’s exactly what it does, and it works the same way as the adb push command did. You need to know both the path of the file you want to pull off, as well as the path you want it placed into. You can leave the destination path blank and it will drop the file into your tools folder to make things easy.

In this example, I did it the hard way and entered the full path(s) so you can see what it looks like. Remember your forward slash versus backward slash rules here and you’ll have no problems.

4. The adb reboot command

This is exactly what you think it is — a way to reboot your device from the command line. Running it is simple: just type adb reboot and enter.

Before you say “I can just push the button!” you have to understand that these commands can be scripted, and your device can reboot in the middle of a script if you need it to. And that’s a good segue to number five.

5. The adb reboot-bootloader and adb reboot recovery commands

Not only can you reboot your device, you can specify that it reboots to the bootloader. This is awfully handy, as sometimes those button combos are touchy, and if you have a lot of devices it’s tough to remember them all. Some devices don’t even have a way to boot to the bootloader without this command. And once again, being able to use this command in a script is priceless.

Doing it is easy, just type adb reboot-bootloader and hit the enter key.

Most devices can also boot into the recovery directly with the adb reboot recovery (note there is no hyphen in this one) and some can’t. It won’t hurt anything to try.

6. The fastboot devices command

When you’re working inside the bootloader, adb no longer works. You’re not yet booted into Android, and the debugging tools aren’t active to communicate with. You’ll need to use the fastboot command in its place.

Fastboot is probably the most powerful Android debug tool available, and many devices don’t have it enabled. If yours does, you need to be sure things are communicating. That’s where the fastboot devices command comes into play. At the prompt, just type in fastboot devices and you should see a serial number, just like the adb devices command we looked at earlier.

If things aren’t working and you’re using Windows, you likely have a driver issue and you’ll need to source it from the manufacturer.

7. The fastboot unlock command

The fastboot unlock process will erase everything on your phone and reset it.

The holy grail of Android commands, fastboot flashing unlock does one thing, and one thing only — unlocks your bootloader. It’s not enabled on every phone, even phones that support fastboot, but we’re including it because even if you don’t need it, it’s an important part of Android’s openness. Google doesn’t care what we do with phones as long as it doesn’t go against rules for Google Play access, and that includes this easy way to crack them open, even if the company who made your phone doesn’t support it.

Using it is easy enough. Once you’ve used fastboot devices to make sure everything is communicating, just type fastboot flashing unlock at the prompt and hit enter. Look at your device, read carefully, and choose wisely.

8. The adb install command

While adb push can copy files to our Android devices, adb install can actually install apps. You’ll need to supply the path where you have the .apk file saved, then run it like this: adb install TheAppName.apk.

If you’re updating an app, you use the -r switch: adb install -r TheAppName.apk. There is also a -s switch which tries to install on the SD card as well as other commands you probably won’t ever need.

And finally, you can uninstall apps by their package name with adb uninstall package-name-here. Uninstall has a switch, too. The -k switch will uninstall the app but leave all the app data and cache in place.

9. The adb sideload command

An OTS (over-the-air) update is downloaded by your phone as a .zip file. You can also download that zip file manually and install it without having to wait for your phone to have the update pushed to it. The end result is the same as if you had waited, but we hate waiting.

All you have to do is download the update to your computer. Plug your phone into the computer. Then, reboot into recovery on your phone and using the up and down volume buttons choose Apply update from ADB. Then hop into your favorite terminal/command line and type adb sideload Full-Path-to-the-file.zip and hit enter. Let things run their course, and you’re golden.

10. The adb shell command

The adb shell command confuses a lot of folks. There are two ways to use it, one where you send a command to the device to run in its own command line shell, and one where you actually enter the device’s command shell from your terminal.

In the image above, I’m inside the device shell. Getting there is easy enough, just type adb shell and enter. Once inside, you can interact with the actual running operating system on your phone. I’ll warn you that unless you’re familiar with an ash or bash shell, you need to be careful here because things can turn south quickly if you’re not. Ash and bash are command shells. They allow you to interact with your phone through typed commands and a lot of folks use one or both on their Linux or Mac computers even if they didn’t know it. ** It is not DOS so don’t try any DOS commands.**

The other method of using the adb shell command is using it to tell your phone to run a shell command without going into the shell. Using it is easy; type adb shell An example would be changing permissions on a file like so: adb shell chmod666 /sdcard/somefile.

Be very careful running direct commands using these methods.

And there you have it. There are plenty more commands to learn if you ‘re the type who likes to learn commands, but these 10 are the ones you really need to know if you if you want to start digging around at the command prompt.

Updated August 2018 to stay current with the latest releases of Android.