Elementary OS is one beautiful Linux flavour and in this article, we are covering top 4 reasons to use Elementary OS.

Elementary OS may not have a user base like Ubuntu or Mint but surely has started gaining popularity lately. With its polished and smooth interface, it provides a nice experience along with a strictly monitored AppCenter.

Elementary OS 5.1 Hera was released today with a new and better user interface, flatpak support and many iterative improvements. However, rather than going in details of release 5.1 features and release notes, I’m going to cover the features that stands out Elementary OS from other Linux distributions on a high level. Lets see the top 4 reasons to use Elementary OS.

Top 4 Reasons to Use Elementary OS

Easy to install and set up

The most important thing for any Operating System is for a first time user to set it up. Installation of Elementary OS is pretty straight forward with almost zero technical knowledge requirements (Arch users – you know what I mean 😉 ). Most of the important software are pre-loaded and the use of these applications and operating system as a whole is pretty straight forward. The team at Elementary OS believes an Operating System should have minimal difficulty in use.

“Configuration is not absolutely required for the first use, they should not be required to configure anything”

Cassidy James Blaede, Co-founder & CXO | Elementary OS

Any user moving from Microsoft ecosystem to Linux and picks up Elementary OS as his first OS will not find any reason in calling it difficult to use!

The user interface is pretty simple. The application section is in the top left corner and launching it moved it to the bottom Mac-like dock. You can move your favourite applications to dock. On the top right, there are options for volume control, wiki, Bluetooth, power settings and notification centre.

It’s own App store – AppCenter

The AppCenter had very less applications but with the increase in popularity, the number of apps are increasing. Almost all of the important applications can be downloaded and used directly from the AppCenter e.g. Office Suite, Krita, Multimedia applications etc.

The AppCenter is rigorously monitored and Elementary OS discourages the use of PPAs and installing applications from other non-trusted sources (which in fact you should avoid while using any Linux distribution). However, the strict monitoring of the AppCenter may not satisfy some of your need, hence the support for flatpaks!

Consistent interface and an elegant desktop environment

Elementary OS comes with Pantheon desktop environment – which may not the best available (it’s a matter of personal liking) but its low on resources and provides an easy to use interface. The Apps don’t behave differently and are streamlined with the overall user interface. This is primarily because the AppCenter is strictly monitored and only allows Applications which meets its requirements.

In order to provide a consistent overall user interface, Elementary team has published some guidelines which are followed to achieve better learning and straight forward design. The applications look native and share the same elegant interface.

Built-in Parental Controls

Elementary OS comes with built-in parental control feature. If you have a kid at your home and want to restrict things up, you will be able to set a duration of use along with certain links.

It gives you an option to create a secondary account to limit applications for the user; I will certainly not allow any other person using my system to access terminal.

Wrapping Up

Different Linux distributions has their own pros and cons and some are even tailored to specific uses like Kali Linux. For anyone trying a Linux distribution, any of the Linux Mint, Ubuntu or Elementary OS are usually the first preference. Elementary OS stands out with its user interface with Pantheon desktop environment and strictly monitored AppCenter. Go, try it out.

If you want to try it first before installing, you can always create a Linux bootable USB drive and explore it.

For the distro-hoppers, what made you stick to Elementary OS for a decent amount of time? Let us know in the comments.