As of 2011, the development team of Elementary OS made it their mission to create a user-friendly, powerful and, according to them, ethical operating system based on Ubuntu that oriented on macOS in terms of its visual and handling appeal. Its developers consider Elementary OS an alternative to Windows and Apple. The focus is on smooth processing and ease of use, more so than individual configuration options. With Pantheon, Elementary OS also has its own desktop environment. The Linux distribution is open source and exclusively financed through donations. Personal data is not collected.
With Elementary OS 6.0 Odin and 6.1 Jólnir, developers are relying on a new installation program with its own front end. These versions are based on Ubuntu 20.04 and focus on easy handling. The desktop environment Pantheon has been adapted and can now switch between regular and night mode if required. Much like the previous versions of Elementary OS, the sixth edition relies primarily on its own software, which is listed in the AppCenter. With Elementary OS 6, however, this is provided as a flatpak. The latest version provides improved touchpad support and three-finder swiping.