As the first major update of the year, the 2.4.6 was eagerly awaited by the Magento community – not only for its benefits in improving the functionality, usability, and security of the software, but also for reaffirming Adobe’s commitment to support the core Magento code, along with their main paid product, Adobe Commerce.

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As usual, apart from bug fixes from previous versions, the release provides performance improvements, new features, and security patches that keep the software up to date and protect it against potential vulnerabilities.

Security

Eight security fixes and platform security improvements have been provided to improve compliance with the latest security best practices, such as addressing gaps in Admin action logs, reCAPTCHA validation (which no longer fails during checkout when unexpected errors occur during payment processing), and a new system configuration for requiring email confirmation when an admin user changes their email. Be aware that the latter will affect the Magento_Customer module.

Platform enhancements

The most noteworthy change is the introduction of support for PHP 8.2, which means that developers can now take advantage of its latest features and performance improvements. PHP 8.1 remains fully supported, but support for PHP 7.4 has been removed in this release, so if you are still running Magento OS on PHP 7.4, you will need to upgrade the PHP version.

Another change is the removal of support for Composer 1.x. The release now supports Composer 2.2.x, so users who are still using the older version of Composer will need to upgrade to the latest version to install and use Magento Open Source 2.4.6.

This latest version also brings updates to the search options available. OpenSearch is now supported as the default search engine for both on-prem and cloud deployments, and as an independent search engine for Magento OS. The release supports OpenSearch v2.x . While compatibility with OpenSearch 1.x remains, it is recommended to use the latest version for optimal performance. Additionally, ElasticSearch 8.x is now supported as an option for users who prefer that search engine.

Finally, Magento Open Source 2.4.6 supports MariaDB 10.6. The release is still compatible with the old MariaDB 10.4 version, but upgrading to the latest version is strongly recommended.

Other upgrades and replacements are present in this version including migrating the DHL schema to v10.0 and updating outdated JavaScript libraries and dependencies. These outdated dependencies have been removed, and the changes are backward compatible.

Symfony dependencies are now upgraded to the new LTS version.

Outdated Zend framework components which have reached end of life have been removed from Magento’s code. At the same time, Laminas dependencies are now updated to support PHP 8.2.

Accessibility and functionality

Many efforts have been taken to create a more seamless experience on Venia PWA, like visual text labels for the Sign in button, descriptions added to buttons and ‘Has video’ checkboxes, plus many other enhancements to make it more operable.

Page Builder was updated to v.1.7.3 and is compatible with Magento Open Source 2.4.6.

Various Adobe IMS modules have been removed from the core code, but are still available as a separate metapackage.

The Braintree payment method has received some enhancements. The Pay Later button is now enabled for Italy and Spain. Additionally, PayLater messaging with PayPal Vault has been enabled. The update has added web hooks for Fraud Protection, ACH payments, and Local Payment Methods. 

GraphQL has been improved and it provides a better response time for querying categories with category permissions enabled. 

At the same time, the categoryList query has been optimized to support customers with a large number of categories. As a result, with this query, merchants who search more than 1500 categories with up to five levels of nested subcategories will notice an improved performance.

The add-product mutations have been optimized to improve query performance when adding up to 500 simple and configurable products, resulting in reduced bulk cart-operations query response times.

As we have been used to, in order to maintain the reliability and stability of the platform, the Magento engineers fixed hundreds of past issues in the Magento Open Source 2.4.6 core code. 

General known issues from previous versions related to time range displayed, customer zip codes, customer accounts, customers logins, and many more have been addressed in this version. 

Previously, Magento Open Source displayed errors when Google ReCAPTCHA was not first selected before a shopper first attempted to place an order. The issue was resolved and Google reCAPTCHA now works as expected for storefront orders. 

Additionally, the Magento engineers fixed hundreds of issues related to installation and deployment, accessibility, bundle products, cart and checkout, price rules and coupons, and many more. The full list can be viewed here…

Conclusions

Along with the enhanced security measures, which include important security fixes and updates to third-party libraries, the latest Magento 2.4.6 version comes with improved GraphQL coverage and support, as well as a variety of enhancements to the platform’s performance, scalability, and functionality. Other key features of the release include updates to the payment and shipping methods and improved PWA Studio performance. Overall, Magento 2.4.6 is an impressive update that will provide users with an even more powerful and secure e-commerce platform.

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