Magento 2.4 Released

Magento 2.4.0 released its new version on the 28 July 2020.

As has become customary, after a big sub-version drops, it is quickly followed by a bug-fix release and the Version of v2.4.1 beta release was released on the 10th September 2020. This will be followed by the Pre-release version, scheduled for the 1st October 2020.

We can expect a General Availability version by the 15 October 2020. Because there have been many bug fixes and performance updates in the 2.4 series, we suggest that shop owners planning to upgrade wait at least until 2.41 drops.

Update: Important New Functionality in 2.4

(11 Oct 2020)

We are building a series of articles explaining some of the new 2.4 functionality that is either long-awaited or has only been previously available as paid-for extensions.

Magneto Aims for Release Consistency

Since the Adobe acquisition, Magento has tried to be consistent with improvements and scheduled upgrades, promising regular quarterly enhancements and security fixes and updates. Up to now, they have delivered on time.

A primary focus has also been to eliminate previous bugs and issues to ensure that Magento becomes even more stable than it already is.

Deeper Adobe Integration in Magento 2.4

Part of Magento’s drive is to deepen the integration of its software into the Adobe product line.

Currently, the flagship of this kind of connection is Adobe Stock Integration, which can link to stock image previews directly from the Media Gallery. The New Media Gallery provides a thirty-times faster searchable interface for Magento media and assets. One can now find Adobe Stock preview images in the Media Gallery, which reduces the pain of looking for images.

It is really simple to easily configure ‘Adobe Stock integration’

2.4 Core Code Fixes 

Part of the new Magento 2.4 release includes over a hundred core code fixes.

These fixes include:

  • support for PHP 7.4
  • improved Elasticsearch support
  • ability to use MySQL 8.0
  • many security fixes
  • some legacy payment gateways removed including - Authorize.Net and Braintree
  • PayPal API has been enhanced, especially support for PayPal Express Checkout

Version 2.4 Performance improvements

A key area of speed improvement was in the Redis Cache system, which provides an optimized in-memory data store that avoids ‘costly’ disc operations. The new optimizations include:

  • reduction in the size and number of queries between Redis and Magento
  • lower CPU usage
  • better MySQL connections
  • Redis configuration option in the Admin back-end

Other performance tweaks include many aimed at enhanced shopping experience:

  • Page loading has been dramatically improved (by up to 40% in some cases)
  • Reordering and checkout screens can show speed improvements approaching 50%
  • Quick Order has up 30% faster add to cart performance
  • Lazy loading for images is now available
  • Caching and reduction in the number of SQL queries (For example a fetch to the inventory_stock_sales_channel costs a single query instead of 16)

Mandatory Admin 2-FA Authentication 

Access to the Magento Admin back-end is now only possible with Magento 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication). A number of authenticators are supported including the popular Google Authenticator.

Note that 2FA authentication for Admin login cannot be disabled.(Not true! There is fix or more putting it more plainly, a way to circumvent this important security feature)

Other enhancements to 2.4

For B2B stores, Purchase Approval Workflows are now supported. This new workflow functionality is designed to speed-up B2B regular purchases by B2B customers. Read more here on our sister website.

Enhanced Documentation

All bug fixes for these projects are documented separately, project-specific release information, and is available in the documentation for each project.

Bye-bye IE 11

Almost as a side note, Magento 2.4 drops support for Internet Explorer 11. This will be sure to make many support staff happy.

Conclusion

It is clear Magento will keep pushing its capability to improve. It will continue to enhance the working experience of developers and consumers.