The article was initially published in WebMeridian blog.

On March 14, 2023, Adobe implemented a significant Magento upgrade. In this article, we’ll discuss the features introduced in Magento 2.4.6.

We’ll explore:

• Improvements in its tech and performance

• New tools offered

• How the upgrade will increase your store’s efficiency

Overview of Magento 2.4.6

The release of Magento 2.4.6 brings compatibility with PHP 8.2 and introduces significant advancements in performance and scalability.

Moreover, it comprises over 300 changes and quality fixes which greatly contribute to the central features and external additions. The new releases of Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 and Magento 2.4.6 are set to take your eCommerce experience to the next level.

Let’s check out what this update from Adobe Commerce and Magento 2.4.6 brings to your shop:

• 300+ modifications and quality upgrades

• Support of PHP 8.2

• Eight security improvements

• Much better GraphQL performance and minimized response time

• Upgraded JavaScript libraries to the most recent versions

• Synchronization with Page Builder v.1.7.3 and PWA Studio v.13.0.x

Key highlights of the Magento 2.4.6 release

Hundreds of improvements are included in this latest Magento release. Here are the key features of the Magento update and how they can benefit your store.

Tech Changes

The release of Magento 2.4.6 brings a host of exciting technical changes, including:

• PHP: Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 now works with PHP 8.2. PHP is a common open-source coding language for web development. But note, PHP 7.4 is no longer supported.

• Composer: Composer is an important tool in PHP. This Magento 2.4.6 release update offers 2.2.x. It no longer works with Composer 1.x.

• Redis: Redis is an open-source tool used as a database, cache, and message broker. This latest version of Magento works with Redis up to version 7.0.x, and it still works with Redis 6.2. It’s advisable to use Redis 7.0.x, though, as support for Redis 6.2 will end in 2024.

• Search engine: OpenSearch is the new default search engine for Adobe Commerce. Up to version 2.x is supported.

• Elasticsearch: Magento 2.4.6 now works with version 8.x of Elasticsearch, a search and analytics tool.

• MariaDB: MariaDB, a popular open-source database system, works with Magento 2.4.6 up to version 10.6 (LTS). MariaDB 10.6 is recommended, even though 10.4 is still supported.

Processing Improvements

You’ll find Magento 2.4.6 faster than previous versions, thanks to new features such as:

• Customer segments: This newest release of Magento 2.4.6 is faster when handling multiple customer segments.

• Product grid: A new setting can limit the products shown in the product grid. This improves its functionality.

• Import performance: A new API endpoint speeds up data importing.

• Order management: Enhanced load balancing allows for more efficient handling of large volumes of simultaneous orders.

• Added features to Adobe Commerce Extension Metapackage: This update introduces the Adobe Commerce Extension metapackage v1.1.0.

• Adobe I/O Events: This captures Commerce events and sends data from Adobe Commerce to other Adobe systems. This update really improves data sharing.

Security

Adobe has shown they take security very seriously with this latest Magento release. Key improved security features are:

• Adobe has strengthened Magento 2.4.6 with eight new security features.

• Detailed tracking of admin actions is now available.

• A problem with reCAPTCHA during payment processing has been fixed.

• An extra layer of security has been added for admins when changing their emails.

User Experience

This version of Magento makes customer flow much better, with faster load times and tons of noticeable improvements of crucial features:

Cart and Checkout

In Magento 2.4.6, the shopping flow is better than in previous versions. The total price and product quantity can now be changed in the cart.

Google reCAPTCHA now works properly and doesn’t block orders.

Cart Price Rule

The discount rule system in the shopping cart works better and the rules apply correctly at checkout. Magento 2.4.6 is also better at calculating discounts.

Catalogue

In Magento (Adobe Commerce) 2.4.6, the product list and price display are improved. When the customer changes their address, the prices switch correctly. It also does a better job of notifying your customers of product price drops.

Configurable Products

Stock management for configurable products (e.g. if different colours or sizes are available) works smoother and faster in Magento 2.4.6. In addition, out-of-stock items can’t be added to the cart.

Coupons

In Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 version, the coupon system has been vastly improved. Now, coupons added at checkout correctly add reward points. Also, the process of using coupon codes when making an order has been improved.

Currency

With this latest Magento update, the platform displays currency symbols and prices more clearly on the website and the admin view.

Customer Segment

Filters for customer segments, or groups of clients with shared features, now work as expected when creating new cart price rules.

Email

Adobe Commerce version 2.4.6 no longer sends double-order emails to users. Image options are also displayed better in emails.

Shipping

The following updates have been made to the shipping feature:

• The Free Shipping Cart rule now correctly calculates shipping rates for FedEx, USPS and UPS, even when only a subset of items in the cart matches the rule.

• The free shipping option no longer appears on the admin shipping page when the total order is less than the minimum amount eligible for free shipping.

• Magento Open Source now respects the Show Company setting in the admin customer configuration when displaying shipping or customer addresses.

• If the Show Company setting is disabled, the shipping company is not included in the shipping address, customer address, or database order record.

• An unnecessary save operation on quotes when estimating shipping has been eliminated. The StoreId scope is now directly applied from $request->getStoreId(), ensuring the scope isn’t lost when an admin user creates a quote. This addresses occasional issues with shipping methods when using third-party modules to create quotes from the admin interface.

• SEO-friendly URLs are now generated for products whose url_key setting is overridden at the store-view level.

• There is no longer a minimum order amount error when a discount is applied to shipping costs.

• Shipping refunds are now correctly calculated when tax is applied after a discount has been applied to shipping.

• All promotions for a requested cart through GraphQL cart query are returned at once, including line item discounts, cart rules/discounts, coupons, gift cards and store credit.

• The setShippingMethodsOnCart mutation now includes price_excl_tax and price_excl_tax types in the output.

• Unique shipping IDs are now correctly included in GraphQL responses, as expected, for shipping details when products are shipped to multiple addresses.

Platform Upgrades

Magento 2.4.6 includes some welcome platform upgrades, including:

• Adobe has improved Magento 2.4.6 by adding support for PHP 8.2.

• They are supporting more technical tools like Composer 2.2.x, ElasticSearch 8.x and Redis 7.0.x.

• OpenSearch is now the default search engine for Adobe Commerce.

• Adobe recommends upgrading MariaDB to 10.6, even though they still support the previous version.

• The platform has also migrated the DHL scheme from v6.2 to v10.0, upgraded outdated JavaScript libraries and removed unnecessary dependencies.

Accessibility Features

Magento is more accessible than ever with this latest release of version 2.4.6:

• Adobe has made Magento 2.4.6 easier to use for everyone. The “Sign in” button now has a visible label.

• Storefront buttons have more descriptive and memorable names.

• There are informative, detailed captions for “Has Video” checkboxes in shop search filters.

• Users who navigate using only a keyboard can now fully access all page functionalities.

Braintree Accessibility

In Magento 2.4.6, the following accessibility updates have been made to Braintree:

• The Pay Later function and messaging are now available in Italy and Spain. Pay Later messaging has been activated in conjunction with PayPal Vault.

• Web links for fraud protection and Automated Clearing House (ACH) have been incorporated.

• A new web link for Local Payment Methods (LPM) has been integrated.

GraphQL Performance Boosts

Here are some of the key performance enhancements for GraphQL in Magento 2.4.6:

• The response time for category queries with enabled category permissions has been improved.

• The efficiency of processing the category tree in GraphQL has been optimized.

• Response times for bulk shopping cart operation inquiries have been reduced.

Fixed issues

• The installation, upgrade and deployment of Magento now perform better due to bug fixes.

• Bulk products can be updated via API and filtered in the grid without any errors.

• Buttons in the Checkout and Review order process are now easily accessible with keyboard inputs.

• The Full-page cache isn’t flushed unless the ordered product is out of stock.

• Data caching now works properly when the L2 cache is configured.

• The ‘Display Out of Stock Products’ feature now functions correctly on the storefront inventory when enabled.

• Admins can add many simple products to a configurable product, even if the salable quantity is 0, to their shopping cart.

• Shoppers can add simple products to another product without getting an error that often appeared in previous versions: “Something went wrong with the default view.”

• After an order is created from the admin screen, Adobe Commerce no longer sends duplicate emails to the customer.

• Merchants can now specify a custom external SMTP provider.

• Customers can now log in after a password reset, even if they previously exceeded the maximum number of failed login attempts.

• Shipping rates for FedEx, USPS and UPS are now calculated correctly when the Free Shipping Cart rule applies to only a subset of items in the cart.

• Outdated JavaScript libraries have been updated to the latest versions.

Features removed from Adobe Commerce 2.4.6

In the latest Magento 2.4.6 update, some features have been removed due to backward-incompatible changes.

Here’s a list of some elements no longer present:

• PHP 7.4 support has been dropped from Magento Open Source/Adobe Commerce.

• Composer 1.x is no longer supported. Outdated JavaScript libraries and dependencies have been eliminated.

• Jquery-migrate has been removed from the Commerce and Magento Open Source codebases.

• Zend framework (ZF1) components, which have reached their end of life, have been removed from the codebase.

• The laminas/laminas-dependency-plugin Composer plugin has been discarded.

• The dependency on the imagemin-svgo library has been removed.

• The Tagline and Layout configuration fields for all PayPal buttons in the Admin Styling section have been deleted.

• The non-native array_first function has been removed from dev dependencies in the MFTF framework.

Should You Upgrade to Adobe Commerce 2.4.6?

If you want a secure, quick shopping platform, consider the Magento (Adobe Commerce) 2.4.6 release. It’s safe, fast and contains plenty of new features. However, remember that updating could cause issues with older features.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of updating to Magento 2.4.6:

Positives

• Safer: The Magento latest version comes with eight fixed security issues. This makes it more secure for you and your users.

• More features: The Magento 2.4.6 release comes with a lot of extensions and improved functionality.

• Faster: Adobe has vastly improved the speed of the platform, so you can offer a better customer experience.

Negatives

• Compatibility issues: This version may not work with older features or plugins. You might need to find new ones that work.

• Plugin problems: If plugin creators don’t update their plugins by July 12, 2023, they will be removed from the marketplace. This could limit the plugins you can use.

Things to Consider When Migrating to Magento 2.4.6

Here’s a brief summary of things to consider when you migrate.

• Verify the compatibility of your current commerce setup with Magento 2.4.6.

• Identify any potential conflicts or necessary data integrations during the upgrade.

• Confirm that all themes and plugins used in previous Magento versions will work with 2.4.6.

• Back up your existing website data before initiating the migration.

• Assess any possible server hardware requirements for the new Magento version.

• Wrap up any customizations or data migrations from the old version before starting the upgrade process.

Even though upgrading to the latest version of Magento requires some initial work, it’s a necessary move. All new plugins, security upgrades and templates will be designed to be compatible for this version, so delaying migration makes little sense.

If you get a team of professionals to help you, like WebMeridian, you’ll be switching in no time.

Conclusion

The release of Adobe Commerce 2.4.6 introduces key features designed to improve the functionality and efficiency of your eCommerce platform.

If you are looking for certified Magento developers who can adapt your store to the new version of Magento or migrate plugins from the old version, contact WebMeridian. Our team will be happy to help you get the most out of the latest update.