Another major Magento update is on the way! The public release of version 2.4.6 is scheduled on March 14, 2023.
Although it seems to be a regular update with enhancements and bug fixes, 2.4.6 in fact brings some important changes that crucially affect the performance of third-party extensions. Developers and vendors will have to spend a lot of time and effort revising their plugins to make sure they run smoothly on the new Magento version. Likewise, merchants should be aware that upgrading to 2.4.6 requires careful preparation.
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Let’s delve into the highlights of the upcoming changes and how Amasty is preparing for them.
Platform enhancements
System requirements
The 2.4.6 release comes with some updates in supported versions of third-party software dependencies:
→ Introduced support for the latest PHP 8.2, while 8.1 also remains compatible. Support for PHP 7.4 is removed.
→ This release supports OpenSearch v2.x. OpenSearch becomes the default search engine for Adobe Commerce on-premises/cloud deployments and is supported as an independent search engine for Magento Open Source. We test and guarantee that all the Enterprise and Commerce Cloud packages of our extensions are compatible with OpenSearch.
→ Support is claimed for ElasticSearch 8.x
→ Composer 2.2.x is compatible with the new release.
→ Compatibility with MariaDB 10.6 (LTS version). MariaDB 10.4 is still supported, but upgrading to MariaDB 10.6 is advised.
→ Support for Redis 7.0.x. Redis 6.2 remains compatible with Magento 2.4.6, but is expected to reach end of life in 2024.
Replaced libraries
Outdated Zend framework (ZF1) components are removed from the codebase and replaced with actively supported laminas libraries:
Zend_Filter replaced with laminas-filter
Zend_HTTP replaced with laminas-http
Zend_Validate replaced with laminas-validator
Vendors have to replace these libraries for their extensions, too. We defined all Amasty extensions that use Zend components and replaced them with laminas components. The modules were tested with the new Magento 2.4.6 release and confirmed to work properly. See the list of the extensions that will be updated in terms of libraries at the end of this article.
Moreover, some additional work was done to implement compatibility between our extensions and Magento modules that were affected by the replacement of libraries.
New features and improved functionality
Quite a bit of new features is coming with the new Magento release. Here's a recap of Magento functionality enhancements.
More secure
The 2.4.6 release contains eight security fixes, which aim at reducing the possibility of customer information being accessed or admin sessions being taken over. Other security improvements include:
→ Filled gaps in Admin action logs with more specific auditing of activities across grid views, mass actions, and exports.
→ New option to enable/disable the requirement for email confirmation when an admin user changes their email address.
More scalable
→ New setting for reducing validation of each customer segment, thus improving the performance of operations that involve more than 100 customer segments.
→ New setting for improving the performance of the product grid by limiting the number of products displayed in it.
→ New POST /rest/<store_view_code>/V1/import/csv REST API Endpoint that increases import performance up to 100,000 records per minute.
→ Cloud users who have more than 1000 orders per minute can now improve order processing performance by balancing the load on their database across different nodes.
Better accessibility
The storefront experience on Venia (PWA) is more user-friendly due to the below enhancements:
→ The text label for the Sign in button now matches its accessible name.
→ All buttons now have descriptive accessible names.
→ Verbal descriptive labels were added to the Has Video checkboxes in search filters.
→ Sub-navigation links can now be accessed using only keystrokes, which makes the whole storefront accessible for keyboard-only users.
The 2.4.6 release supports PWA Studio v.13.0.x.
Enhanced GraphQL performance
→ Response is improved when querying products in categories for which category permissions are enabled.
→ The categoryList query now supports customers with a large number of categories
→ Response time is reduced for bulk cart operations query when adding up to 500 simple and configurable products.
Fixed issues
The 2.4.6 release is going to roll out hundreds of corrected issues, which cover various areas of Magento: Cache, Catalog, GraphQL, Import/Export, Order, Payment, Web API Framework, and many others. We’ve compiled some examples below.
→ 10 fixes aimed at improving and stabilizing installation, upgrade, and deployment processes.
→ The Proceed to Checkout, Review Order, and Place Order buttons now work as intended with keyboard input.
→ Duplicate emails are no more sent to customers after an order is created from the Admin.
→ Corrected issue with reCAPTCHA failure when unexpected errors occur during checkout.
→ Reward points are now correctly added to the user account when the coupon is applied for the PayPal Express payment option.
→ Now, all products are displayed as out-of-stock on the storefront when the backend Display Out of Stock Products setting is enabled.
→ Correct calculation of the grand total for refunds of orders with a discount for shipping.
→ The exception.log file records all the errors as expected.
Of course, these are not all the changes and fixes to be released in March. For a comprehensive list, refer to Adobe 2.4.6 release notes.
What Amasty extensions will be tested with Magento 2.4.6?
In preparation for the upcoming updates, we run our existing MFTF tests for extensions that are covered by MFTF:
Improved Layered Navigation
Special Promotions Pro
Elastic Search
One Step Checkout
Free Gift
Product Feed
Google Page Speed Optimizer
Blog Pro
SEO Toolkit
Automatic Related Products
Product Labels
GDPR
Custom Form
Gift Card
Mega Menu
Improved Sorting
Request a Quote
Shipping Suite
Admin Actions Log
Out of Stock Notification
Order Attributes
Import & Export
Social Login
Extended Product Grid with Editor
Product Attachments
Advanced Reports
Abandoned Cart Email
Store Locator
RMA
Reward Points
Above that, modules with Zend components will be verified for a successful transition to new libraries:
Google Page Speed Optimizer
One Step Checkout
Gift Card
Custom Form
Improved Sorting
Request a Quote
Visual Merchandiser
Advanced Reviews
GDPR and CCPA
Improved Layered Navigation
Hide Price
Blog Pro
Reward Points
Store Locator
Order Attributes
Shipping Rules
Shipping Restrictions
Product Labels
Product Feed
Out Of Stock Notifications
Free Gift
Extended Product Grid
Delivery Date Manager
Quick Order
Dropshipping
Multi Warehouse Inventory
Gift Wrap
Instagram Feed
Exit Intent Popup
PDF Customizer
App for Stripe Payments
FAQ and Product Questions
Affiliate
Color Swatches Pro
Generate and Import Coupons
Follow Up Email
Landing Pages
AJAX Shopping Cart
Pre Order
Customer Group Catalog
Product Parts Finder
Google Rich Snippets
If you are interested in 2.4.6 compatibility for a specific module and need confirmation, you can always check it on the product page after the release.
Final word
Adobe makes Magento platform better with each release, and 2.4.6 is not an exception. Looking at all the above-mentioned updates, we can definitely say that this release is worth to be upgraded to.
Yet still, be aware that it includes backward-incompatible changes. They require additional efforts from the developers’ side to implement compatibility between third-party plugins and the new Magento release. Or you can always book a consultation and upgrade hassle-free with our help!
We hope that the small insides of our work will contribute to your preparations for the upgrade. At least you don't have to worry much about third-party extensions – you just need to make sure their vendors take care of compatibility for you.
