The Latest Magento 2.4.4 Is Here: New Features and Improvements

Every year, Magento lovers wait to see what the next version of the popular open-source eCommerce platform on the planet is going to bring. Be ready to upgrade your Magento store to the latest Magento version released by Adobe.

Magento 2.4.4 was officially released on April 12, 2022, and now the term is such a hot topic. This brings so many exciting new features, improved functionalities, plenty of important bug fixes, and performance enhancements. But what is that?

If you are curious to know everything about the latest Magento release but at the same time, too lazy to sit down with the epic Release Note, then, this article is for you. We've got you covered! This article, all those interesting and must-know facts about the new Magento 2.4.4 version.

Let's dig into the details and have a look at what’s new and exciting in the latest Magento 2.4.4 version.

Magento 2.4.4 Release Highlights

Below, we have listed some major highlights of the latest released Magento 2.4.4 version:

• Highly supportive of the latest version of PHP 8.1.
• For enhanced security, HTTPS is now enabled by default for the Magento 2 storefront.
• Dependencies on 3rd Parties like Elasticsearch 7.16, PWA Studio v.12.3.0, and OpenSearch 1.2.
• Support for TinyMCE 5.
• All the Vendor-bundled extensions (except Braintree) have been removed by Adobe from the latest release of Magento.
• For a scheduled and organized category update, utilize the GraphQL query to retrieve category information.
• Page builder now supports adding Alt texts for images in the latest Magento 2.4.4.
• Magento 2.4.4 fixes the Cart and Checkout issues too
• Plenty of performance improvements and enhancements in GraphQL.
• Adobe has fixed hundreds of known bugs and issues for better performance.

Everything You Need to Know About Magento 2.4.4 Release:

Magento 2.4.4 has a lot to offer to store owners and developers with enhanced security, performance, and major bug fixes. The Adobe Commerce 2.4.4 release notes highlight all the improvements and include almost 250 bug fixes and quality enhancements.

Platform Enhancements

Adobe has upgraded the latest Magento version with a few platform enhancements for the Magento developers.

• Project libraries and dependencies are now compatible with PHP 8.1.
• Support Elasticsearch 7.16 and OpenSearch 1.2.
• jQuery library has been upgraded to v3.6 a
• Jquery-ui library upgraded to v1.13.0.
• Support TinyMCE 5.8.1. And removed the TinyMCE 4 from the codebase.
• Upgraded to the latest version of PHPUnit, i.e. 9.5.x.
• RequireJS library has been upgraded to v2.3.6.

Security Enhancements

Some major security enhancements include:

• Session IDs are no longer stored in the database.
• Google reCAPTCHA support has been added for the coupon codes in Magento.
• OAuth access tokens and password reset tokens are now encrypted in the database.
• Secure URLs (HTTPS) are now enabled for storefront and admin by default.
• Improved API security
• Validation has been improved to prevent the upload of non-alphanumeric file extensions.
• Token-based authentication has been improved. A stand-alone token can create never-expiring access. This option has been disabled as it can lead to security issues.
• When the version is in production mode, the swagger is disabled by default.

Performance & Scalability Enhancements

• Introduction of AsyncOrder feature for faster order placement and for better performance. This new feature supports around 60,000 orders per hour.
• For faster checkout, this release offers an ‘Enable Inventory Check On Cart Load’ configuration option to skip the inventory check when loading a product in the cart. With this option disabled, Adobe Commerce skips the inventory check, which speeds up checkout, especially for carts with many products.
• Offers a multiple consumers feature to add more message queue consumers on a single cloud instance.
• Option to run parallel consumers in multiple processes with the help of a new multiple_ processes configuration option.
• The memory limit is increased by max_input_vars in the php.ini file to improve the cart operations for carts with 750 configurable products.
• Optimized sales rules, which are processed during checkout.

GraphQL

Some GraphQL improvements in this Magento 2.4.4 release:

• Complete GraphQL coverage for the negotiable quotes.
• The performance of the GraphQL cart operations and the Storefront performance have been improved with reduced response time.
• The webonyx library of core GraphQL has now been upgraded to version ^14.9.
• Translation issues with multi-site and multi-language stores have been fixed in GraphQL.
• Provides New Relic in GraphQL with descriptive transaction names, helpful and easier to debug.

Vendor-Bundled Extensions

• With the exception of Braintree, all Vendor-Bundled extensions are removed. So now merchants should migrate to the official extensions: Amazon Pay, Klarna, dotdigital, YotPo, and Vertex.

PWA Studio

PWA Studio v.12.3.0 is compatible with Commerce 2.4.4. It includes

• Support for reCaptcha
• Page Builder content optimization
• Personalized content.

Page Builder

Enhance content accessibility by adding alternative text (alt_text) to images (Image, Banner, Slide).

PayPal Payment Enhancements

• Support Venmo payment option.
• Support Pay Later option facility based on shopper’s location-based.
• Facility for the merchants to set the shopper's country and test the shopper experience. Previously this was limited to the merchant’s country only.
• Accurate information about the number and amount of installments will be expected to pay while using Pay Later option with the help of messaging option on the checkout page.

Improved Accessibility

Highlights of the accessibility improvements are:

• Improved tooltip links.
• Admin buttons have an accessible, unique, and descriptive purpose.
• Images icons convey a better purpose and also provide a textual alternative.
• Accessible naming and tagging of screen elements
• Increased contrasts in the Admin button for better visibility.

Issues Fixed in Magento 2.4.4 Release

Adobe has fixed a lot of major issues in the Magento 2.4.4 version release. It includes issues related to Installation, upgrades, and deployment, Accessibility Errors, Backend Issues, bundle, and configurable products, Cache, Cart, Checkout, Catalog, Catalog Rule, Framework, Index Issues, Infrastructure, Product Video, ProductAlert, Pricing, Sales, Sales Rule, Shipping & tax issues, UI and Theme related issues and many more.

Magento 2.4.4 Release – Official Notes

Magento developers and store owners can easily download the Magento 2.4.4 release notes from the official Magento website. The direct links are provided below:

Magento Commerce 2.4.4 Release Notes Magento Open Source 2.4.4 Release Notes

Magento 2.4.4 release is finally here with massive updates and improvements in terms of security and performance for the Magento store owners and developers. The year 2022 is heading to be filled with fantastic and amazing Magento 2 features with this release.

It’s a good idea for Magento 2 store owners to upgrade their store to the latest Magento 2.4.4 release from the previous Magento 2.4.3 version to adapt changes and gear up with cutting-edge Magento features. Stay tuned with MageAnts for the latest Magento updates.