Magento 2.3.5 Features and Enhancements

In the following article, we highlight the core features and improvements of Magento 2.3.5. In its first section, you will find updates available in both Commerce and Open Source. After that, there is a section dedicated to Commerce-specific enhancements. Although it is not a new major release, Magento 2.3.5 offers significant platform upgrades, substantial security changes, and performance improvements, including 180 functional fixes as well as 25 security enhancements – less than in 2.3.4.

Magento 2.3.5 Commerce and Open Source Features

Platform updates

The platform now offers support for Elasticsearch 7.x as a catalog search engine for both Commerce and Open Source. 

The deprecation of integrations with the Authorize.Net, eWay, CyberSource, and Worldpay payment methods prepares us for Magento 2.4, where these core features will be removed. You have to use the corresponding official extensions instead. The same is about the Signifyd fraud protection code.

Magento 2.3.5 also delivers an upgrade for Symfony Components to 4.4. 

Dependencies on Zend Framework migrate to the Laminas project in 2.3.5. This update reflects the transitioning of the Zend Framework to the Linux Foundation’s Laminas Project. The former one has been deprecated.

Performance 

Customer data section invalidation improvements of Magento 2.3.5 introduce the new workflow that helps to avoid a known issue with local storage when custom sections.xml invalidations are active.

Besides, Magento 2.3.5 contains numerous optimizations to Redis performance, minimizing the number of queries to Redis, decreasing the size of network data transfers between Redis and Magento, reducing CPU consumption, etc.

Infrastructure improvements

Magento 2.3.5 improves the quality of the Framework and the following modules: Catalog, PayPal, Sales, Elasticsearch, Import, CMS, and B2B (Commerce only). Thus, the PayPal Pro payment method now works following the new default Chrome SameSite cookie functionality. Besides, the improved infrastructure of Magento 2.3.5 offers a PHPStan code analysis check via static builds.

Inventory Management

As for Inventory Management enhancements, they include a new extension point for SourceDataProvider and StockDataProvider as well as the ability to view allocated inventory sources right in the list of orders. 

GraphQL

Although Magento 2.3.5 doesn’t add any significant improvements to the default GraphQL functionality of the platform, the new release lets you use products and categoryList queries to retrieve information about the corresponding entities – products and categories respectively – added to a staged campaign.

PWA Studio

PWA Studio 6.0.0 now offers the new PWA extensibility framework that provides developers with the ability to create an extensibility API for their storefront. Besides, they can write plugins that can interact with this API to modify storefront logic.

Caching and data fetching were improved as well. The improvements cover the Peregrine and Venia UI component libraries, providing the advantage of Apollo cache features. As a result, Magento 2.3.5 allows reducing over-etching.

Also, note that shopping cart components are now optimized for a full-page shopping cart experience.

Google Shopping ads Channel

This module is no longer supported. Replace it with alternative extensions from the Marketplace.

Third-party extensions

In addition to UX enhancements and minor bug fixes, Klarna expands its presence to Australia and New Zealand with Magento 2.3.5. 

In its turn, Vertex now offers address validation, improved admin interface, support for tax calculations for virtual products, restorable configuration settings, ports and basic authentication for WSDL, better code, etc.

Commerce-specific features of Magento 2.3.5

Below, you can find features that are available as a part of Magento 2.3.5 Commerce.

dotdigital

Magento 2.3.5 introduces a new level of integration between the Engagement cloud and Magento B2B via dotdigital. A new B2B integration module lets Magento B2B merchants leverage their B2B data in the following way. Company data synchronization includes such data as customer type, company, company status, etc. Shared catalog data synchronization allows transferring additional product catalog data to dotdigital with its subsequent use in marketing campaigns and recommendations. Quote data is also synchronized.

Besides, Magento 2.3.5 improves importer performance and coupon code resending.

Page Builder

Page Builder now offers templates. You can create them using existing content and then apply them to new content areas.

Video backgrounds for rows, banners, and sliders introduce another notable improvement of Magento 2.3.5. At the same time, these elements support the ability to set their heights to the full height of a page.

The new content type upgrade library of Page Builder upgrades previous versions of content types saved to the database so that they always match the configuration changes of new releases. You no longer lose any data with upgrades.

B2B

Numerous B2B enhancements introduced in Magento 2.3.5 are described below. 

As a Magento 2 admin, you can now create a Shared Catalog when Indexer Dimension Mode is set to website.  It is also possible to search Companies in the Admin using such parameters as a user gender or phone number. And the system lets you configure a downloadable product’s link options when you are on the Admin View Quote page. 

The inability to place a quote order when paying with PayPal has been eliminated in Magento 2.3.5.

The cart correctly displays the checkout button for bundle products disabled and then re-enabled from the Admin Product grid.

Address data is assigned correctly when you reassign Company administrator privileges from one user to another. Issues with incorrect company logos in transactional emails have been fixed, as well.

Other fixes are described here: B2B Release Notes. 

Product Recommendations

Starting from Magento 2.3.5, Commerce users can leverage Product Recommendations. It is a built-in personalization solution powered by Adobe Sensei. We describe this tool here: Magento 2 Personalization Services.

You can find more information about Magento 2.3.5 here.