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.
(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.
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.
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’
Part of the new Magento 2.4 release includes over a hundred core code fixes.
These fixes include:
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:
Other performance tweaks include many aimed at enhanced shopping experience:
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)
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.
All bug fixes for these projects are documented separately, project-specific release information, and is available in the documentation for each project.
Almost as a side note, Magento 2.4 drops support for Internet Explorer 11. This will be sure to make many support staff happy.
It is clear Magento will keep pushing its capability to improve. It will continue to enhance the working experience of developers and consumers.