O2 UK enables RCS (Chat Messaging) support on Samsung Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Z Flip & Galaxy A12

Back in 2019, Google took charge of the RCS Messaging rollout to speed up the availability of the service across the globe rather than having users wait for their carriers to bring support for the feature.

While RCS is now available in many regions through the Google Messages application in regions such as India, the same isn’t the case for those who have Android phones with messaging apps from the OEM.

Moreover, carriers still play a significant role in the RCS rollout which is why the feature is not yet available to all Android users.

That said, mobile carriers around the world are slowly activating RCS on some models. Most recently, we reported that Verizon is activating Advanced Messaging (RCS) on Samsung phones running on One UI 3.0.

Now, O2 UK has also confirmed that the carrier has activated ‘Chat Messaging’ — basically RCS Messaging — on the Samsung Galaxy S20 lineup, Galaxy Z Flip, and the new Galaxy A12.

The information was shared on the carrier’s community forums by the O2 Social Media Team.

Hey all,

Wanted to let you know that this week we have added a few new Samsung devices to our official compatibility list. These are: Galaxy S20, Galaxy Z Flip and the new Galaxy A12… Just make sure you’re on the latest available O2 firmware for them

Prior to this, a handful of Samsung devices such as the Galaxy S10 lineup were already compatible with RCS Messaging on the O2 network in the UK.

Of course, the RCS Messaging rollout through carriers such as O2 UK is painfully slow, however, little progress is always better than no progress.

While RCS Messaging may not be as robust and feature-packed as iMessage for Apple devices, it can be a fine alternative to other third-party messaging apps such as WhatsApp for basic texting.

There have been several bumps in the road for RCS as well. Towards the tail end of last year, we had reported that many Android users, mostly with OnePlus devices, were unable to get the RCS Messaging feature working.

Such issues are often fixed by software updates and thus aren’t major problems, however, we’ll simply have to wait and see if RCS Messaging sees a wide adoption rate or if it’s too little too late.

As usual, we will post an update once O2 UK adds other Samsung phones to its official RCS Messaging compatibility list.

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