The introduction of Magento 2.0 in the market back in November 2015 was a big boost as it came with all new features which were not there in its older version. But with time, as customers and developers started using it, they found it functioning really slow and was full of bugs. So, in came Magento 2.1 in June 2016 with the bug fixes. It is much more stable when compared to its predecessor Magento 2.0.
Major Features Included in Magento 2.1:
- Improved Admin User Interface – Enables the administrator to carry out activities in a comparatively smoother and accessible manner.
- PayPal payment Method Integration – Aids in the streamlined checkout process, increasing conversion rates by requesting the customers to pay via PayPal without even leaving the merchant site. The stored credit details allow shoppers to make faster payments during checkouts for future purchases without re-entering the card details.
- Braintree Enhancements – This allows a fully customizable checkout experience by adding extra security checks that help to identify any fraud or malicious activity in your Magento Store. This enables the merchants to retain complete control over their checkout processes. Since it uses small, transparent iframes rather than replacing individual payment fields, it is evidently more convenient.
New user interface:
- The new User Interface (UI) has got better flexibility and it can be customized using configuration files which include entities such as Product, Category, CMS Page, etc. Don’t forget to check out these Top Magento Themes for your Business!
API level changes:
Magento 2.1 comes with a bunch of enhancements in the API classes that will add to the developer experience with all of its new features –
- Catalog module
- New product option management.
- Product and Categories cross linking management.
- CMS module
- Add meta titles to the CMS pages.
Class level changes:
In Magento 2.1 lots of classes have been removed/modified. Few of the examples are:-
- Magento\PageCache\Observer\InvalidateCacheIfChanged – Class was removed.
- Magento\ConfigurableProduct\Model\Plugin\AfterProductLoad – Class was removed.
- Magento\Cms\Block\Adminhtml\Page\Edit\Tab\Content – Class was removed.
- Magento\Cms\Block\Adminhtml\Page\Edit\Tab\Meta – Class was removed.
- Magento\CatalogRule\Block\Adminhtml\Promo\Catalog\Edit – Class was removed.
- Magento\Catalog\Model\Webapi\Product\Option\Type\File\Validator – Class was removed.
- Magento\Framework\Url::__construct [public] – Method parameter changed.
- Magento\Framework\View\Template\Html\Minifier::$rootDirectory [protected] – Property has been removed.
- Magento\Framework\View\Element\UiComponent\Context::__construct [public] – Method parameter changed.
- Magento\Framework\View\Element\UiComponent\DataProvider\FulltextFilter::apply [public] Method parameter changed.
- Magento\Framework\Validator\Factory::__construct [public] – Method parameter changed.
- Magento\Wishlist\Controller\Index\Cart::__construct [public] – Method parameter changed.
Issues that have been fixed:
Magento 2.1 has come out with many fixed issues which were earlier an obstruction. The issued hence solved are:-
- No anonymous access for Web APIs by default.
- Shipping address is now exposed in Order API.
- Varnish cache performance has been enhanced.
- getList method for order repository does not return same shipping address for all orders.
- The setup:di:compile now compiles all files successfully.
- Enabling the developer mode allows the plugins to work properly.
Technical requirements:
- Magento 2.1 now is now compatible with MySQL 5.6.
- Its supports PHP 5.6, PHP 7.0.2, 7.0.6 + up until 7.1.
Now that we have Magento 2.1.7 which is really fast, we hope that it will provide a seamless performance to the customers and to the developers as well in the future. Now, you can easily integrate your Magento store with the back-end ERP / CRM System and grow your business rapidly!
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