Adobe is reducing the frequency of core Commerce application upgrades in 2022. Three patches will be provided (instead of four) from now until October 2022 – two full patches and one security patch.
Full patch releases will now include only security, compliance, performance, and high priority bugs, in order to reduce the complexity of upgrades. New innovations will continue to be released as independent services, such as Live Search, Product Recommendations, Amazon Sales Channel, etc.
The Quality Patch tool will continue to provide community contributions and lower priority issues, meaning merchants can choose the updates that are important to them, providing greater agility for maintenance.
Patch Types
Patch Release
- Full patch releases include updates to the core application only
- Release are infrequent and include security, compliance and performance updates, and high priority bugs
- Update performed by the merchant
Security Patch Release
- Includes security-only updates
- Designed for security compliance
- Update performed by the merchant
Feature Release
- Focuses on new features
- Delivered as independent service or module
- Updated automatically
PHP & EOS
Adobe will be moving end of support (EOS) dates to align closely with those of PHP. Whenever a PHP version reaches its end of life (EOL), Adobe will update Adobe Commerce code to maintain PCI compliance, and the lifecycle policy of Adobe Commerce has been aligned with PHP EOL dates.
2022 Release Calendar
The Adobe Commerce release calendar is now available at: https://devdocs.magento.com/release/.
Beta Program & Quality Patch Tool
The beta program and Quality Patch tool are available to speed up the delivery of important updates for Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source.
For the Q1 2022 full patch release, Adobe will be releasing beta code starting in October 2021, until the 2.4.4 pre-release date to help partners prepare for upcoming improvements and transition from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.1.
Merchants can also access the upgrade plan checklist, the upgrade best practices guide, and the upgrade compatibility tool to help with scheduling of updates and development.
