The Galaxy A50 isn't just one of Samsung's best-selling smartphones from 2019, it's also among the best-supported devices from the company's mobile portfolio. Which is saying something, given how strong Samsung's after-sales game has been in recent times. Yet a year and a half after its debut, the Galaxy A50 continues to impress – most recently due to the addition of RCS support to its feature set.
The novel functionality hit the said smartphone model as part of the September 2020 security update which began rolling out to select Galaxy A50 models last week. Unsurprisingly, this latest RCS expansion appears to be limited to a single country – Poland, in this instance. It isn't carrier-specific, however, as the September 1st patch has so far only reached the unlocked, dual-SIM variants of the device in the country.
Years later, RCS remains tech industry's slowest revolution ever
Short for Rich communications Services, RCS is a cellular messaging standard that's well-equipped to replace the now-ancient SMS technology with absolutely superior capabilities… eventually. Because 13 years following its initial proposal, no one's exactly in a rush to implement it, courtesy of the fact no one's really using SMS if they can help it. Which isn't to say mobile messaging is without a future – emergency services alone guarantee that isn't the case, not to mention invaluable notifications systems such as Amber alert. Still, global RCS adoption continues to move at a glacial pace, even after a number of tech industry giants including Samsung and Google vowed to find some urgency.
Of course, it's hard to blame manufacturers for this state of affairs since any RCS implementation effort lives and dies by invidual carrier support. Which has been largely non-existent so far, presumably due to the overall lack of consumer interest. In other words: any initiative that doesn't have significant potential to become a major money-maker is unsurprisingly not something the wireless industry is too thrilled to back with notable investments.
With that said, the arrival of RCS support to the Galaxy A50 is a welcome sight as it signals the messaging standard may finally be gaining some traction in the non-flagship market segment. Well, at least as far as Galaxy smartphones are concerned.
