Magento 2.4.6 Release: Exploring the Best Features and Enhancements

Get ready for some exciting news!

The most awaited Magento 2.4.6 release is finally here! As of March 14, 2023, the latest version of this ecommerce platform is available for download.

But what’s new in Magento 2.4.6, and why should you care? This release introduces support for PHP 8.2, which means faster performance and better security for your online store. Plus, there are over 300 quality fixes and enhancements, making this the most polished version of Magento yet.

And there’s, even more to be excited about! With the upgraded core composer dependencies and third-party libraries, this release promises to supercharge your online selling experience. Whether you’re a shop owner or a developer, you’ll find something to love in Magento 2.4.6.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the latest updates and improvements in Magento 2.4.6. So, let’s dive in and see what all the fuss is about!

Magento 2.4.6 Update: Key Features and Enhancements

With the new update, Magento is raising the bar again, delivering the most innovative and comprehensive solution for online businesses. Let’s dive into the key highlights of the Magento 2.4.6 release and see what makes it worth the upgrade.

Security Improvements

Magento 2.4.6 brings important security fixes and improvements, ensuring your online store stays protected. Here’s a quick summary of the enhancements:

• Eight essential security fixes & for more details, refer to the Adobe Security Bulletin
• Improved Admin action logs for grid views, mass actions, and exports
• Better reCAPTCHA validation during checkout
• New system configuration setting to require email confirmation when an admin user changes their email

Although there have been no confirmed attacks related to these issues, staying vigilant and safeguarding your online store is crucial. Most of these issues, however, require the attacker to gain access to the Admin panel first.

To maintain a secure store, consider implementing these measures:

• IP allowlisting
• Two-factor authentication
• Using a VPN
• Choosing a unique location for the Admin panel
• Practicing good password hygiene

Read Essential Magento Security Practices

Platform Improvements

Magento 2.4.6 brings significant platform enhancements to boost the user experience. Here’s a concise summary of the improvements:

• Support for PHP 8.2, while PHP 8.1 remains supported
• Removal of PHP 7.4 support
• Support for Composer 2.2.x, Redis 7.0.x, Elasticsearch 8.x, and MariaDB 10.6 (LTS version)
• Introduction of OpenSearch as the default search engine for Adobe Commerce on-premises and cloud deployments
• Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce 2.4.6 can be installed and operated using OpenSearch 2.x as the search engine prerequisite, whether on-premises or on the cloud.
• Upgrades to outdated JavaScript libraries and removal of outdated dependencies
• Laminas dependencies updated to support PHP 8.2

Accessibility Updates

Magento 2.4.6 prioritizes creating an accessible, user-friendly storefront experience on Venia (PWA). Key accessibility updates include:

• Matching the visual text label for the Sign in button with its accessible name
• Adding descriptive accessible names to buttons throughout the storefront
• Including verbal descriptive labels for the Has Video checkboxes in search filters
• Ensuring full-page storefront functionality is accessible for keyboard-only users

These updates enhance the usability and accessibility of the platform for a more inclusive shopping experience.

Braintree Payment Updates

Magento 2.4.6 introduces several enhancements to the Braintree payment method, including:

• Enabling Braintree Pay Later buttons and messages for Italy and Spain
• Activating the PayLater button & messaging with PayPal Vault
• Adding Fraud Protection and ACH webhooks

These updates provide a more secure and user-friendly payment experience for both merchants and customers, expanding the platform’s reach to new markets.

Learn about other Top Payment Gateways for Magento

Performance & Scalability Enhancements

Magento 2.4.6 introduces various performance and scalability enhancements, making it more efficient and capable of handling increased business demands. Here’s a summary of the improvements:

• Improved performance for operations involving 100+ customer segments
• Enhanced product grid performance with the ability to limit the number of products displayed
• New REST API endpoint for high-performance data import (up to 100,000 records per minute)
• Optimized order processing for Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 on cloud infrastructure customers

These enhancements ensure a faster and more efficient experience for merchants and their customers.

GraphQL Performance Updates

The latest Magento 2.4.6 release introduces various GraphQL performance enhancements, including:

1. Improved response times for product queries in categories with category permissions enabled, optimizing GraphQL resolver operations and product permission processing.
2. Enhanced category tree rendering performance for stores with many categories by optimizing custom attributes metadata fetching, category ID fetching, and category children loading.
3. Faster response times for bulk cart operations through GraphQL, streamlining queries for adding up to 500 simple and configurable products.
4. The customer query now supports order sorting, allowing orders to be sorted by order number or creation date in ascending or descending order.
5. A new mutation, deleteCustomer, was added to enable customer account deletion through GraphQL.
6. Optimized permissions read in shared catalogs for the addProductsToCart mutation, improving overall performance.
7. Product permissions optimized with product inline fragments, further enhancing query efficiency.

These updates enhance the performance of the Magento 2 APIs, making the platform more efficient and responsive for merchants and developers.

B2B Updates

The Magento 2.4.6 release brings new enhancements to the B2B functionality with the introduction of two GraphQL schemas:

1. Purchase Order GraphQL schema: This schema provides B2B company users with Purchase Order Management capabilities, including creating, editing, and deleting purchase orders.
2. Purchase Order Rule GraphQL schema: This schema enables the creation, editing, and deletion of approval rules, as well as the manual validation of purchase orders.

These updates offer a more comprehensive B2B experience by fully exposing the Purchase Orders for Companies feature through the GraphQL API. Additionally, this release includes multiple bug fixes to improve overall B2B functionality.

Page Builder and PWA Studio Updates

In the Magento 2.4.6 release, compatibility updates have been introduced for both Page Builder and PWA Studio:

1. Page Builder: Version 1.7.3 of Page Builder is now compatible with Adobe Commerce 2.4.6, ensuring seamless integration and performance.
2. PWA Studio: Version 13.0.x of PWA Studio is compatible with Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 and includes multiple enhancements to improve accessibility.

Refer to the PWA Studio releases documentation for more information on bug fixes. The Version compatibility documentation provides a list of PWA Studio versions and their compatible Adobe Commerce core versions.

Major Issues Fixed

Magento 2.4.6 brings hundreds of improvements to the platform, enhancing the overall quality, refining payment methods, increasing accessibility, and boosting the performance of GraphQL caching. The update also strengthens the integration with Google modules. The following are some noteworthy fixes and enhancements:

• Resolved issues with the Yes/No filter on the Admin customer segments grid during the creation of a new cart price rule.
• Added missing spaces between custom currency symbols and prices for both storefront and Admin product prices.
• Full-page cache flushing prevented unless the ordered product is out of stock.
• Performance improvements in installation, upgrade, and deployment processes.
• Proper execution of catalog_index_refresh_price cron job, fixing previous errors.
• Enhanced keyboard accessibility for button workflow in Checkout and Review order processes.
• Support for named constructor arguments in Magento\Framework\Code\Reader\ArgumentsReader::getParentCall().
• Accurate shipping rate calculations for FedEx, USPS, and UPS when the Free Shipping Cart rule is set to match only a subset of cart items.
• Enabled merchants to utilize custom external SMTP providers.
• Resolved issues related to duplicate order emails sent to customers when an order was created from the Admin.
• Updated outdated JavaScript libraries to their latest versions.
• Efficient handling of bulk product updates and filtering in the grid via API without errors.
• Fixed the display of image options as HTML markup in default template emails for products with custom options.
• Proper caching of data when the L2 cache is configured enhances performance.
• Improved “Display Out of Stock Products” functionality when the option is enabled on the storefront inventory.
• Allowed admins to add simple products with a salable quantity of 0 to configurable products in their shopping carts.
• Fixed the error “Something go went wrong with default view” when shoppers added simple products to an existing configurable product.
• Ensured customers could log in after a password reset if they exceeded the maximum number of failed login attempts.

These highlights provide an overview of the numerous improvements in Magento 2.4.6. For a comprehensive list, please consult the release notes.

Magento 2.4.6 System Requirements

Magento 2.4.6 has specific system requirements to ensure optimal performance and compatibility. The followings are the major software dependencies and their supported versions for Magento 2.4.6:

• Composer: 2.2
• Elasticsearch: 8.4, 7.17
• OpenSearch: 2.5
• MariaDB: 10.6
• MySQL: 8.0 (Note: Adobe Commerce 2.4.5 and earlier support MySQL 8.0.28 and earlier only)
• PHP: 8.1, 8.2
• RabbitMQ: 3.9
• Redis: 7.0
• Varnish: 7.1
• Apache: 2.4
• Nginx: 1.18
• AWS Aurora (MySQL): 8.0
• AWS S3: Supported
• AWS MQ: 3.9.16
• AWS ElastiCache: Redis 6.2
• AWS Elasticsearch: Not supported
• AWS OpenSearch: 1.2

Other requirements include the following:

Ready to Upgrade to Magento 2.4.6 Today?

Experience lightning-fast performance, enhanced security, and more with Host Duplex’s Magento hosting!

Upgrade Now

Magento 2.4.6 Official Release Notes

To explore detailed information about changes and updates in Magento 2.4.6, please refer to the Magento 2.4.6 official release notes:

• Magento Open Source 2.4.6 Release Notes
• Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 Release Notes

Conclusion

Upgrading to Magento 2.4.6 is a smart move for any eCommerce business looking to stay ahead of the competition. With its improved security features, enhanced performance, and bug fixes, this update provides a better user experience for both customers and administrators.

But before upgrading, ensuring your system meets the requirements is important. Check the table of third-party software dependencies Adobe provides to ensure compatibility with your system.

Overall, the benefits of upgrading to Magento 2.4.6 are undeniable. Take advantage of the improved performance and security measures this update provides.

So, why wait? Give Magento 2.4.6 a try and take your eCommerce business to the next level!