[14] The Pantheon desktop environment is built on top of the GNOME software base, i.e. GTK, GDK, Cairo, GLib, (including GObject and GIO), GVfs, Vala and Tracker.

In addition to its x86 installer, Elementary offers various experimental builds that run on ARM devices such as the Pinebook Pro and Raspberry Pi 4.

[28][29] In November 2012, the first beta version of elementary OS code-named Luna was released, which uses Ubuntu 12.04 LTS as a base.

[33] The name of the third stable version of elementary OS, Isis, was proposed in August 2013 by Danielle Foré, the project leader.

[40][41][42] The elementary OS team has defended the action stating that "Around 99.875% of those users download without paying", and that it is needed to ensure the continued development of the distribution.

[25] Loki was built atop the Ubuntu "long-term support" version released earlier in the year[a][25] and its updated kernel (4.4).

Updated notification menu bar indicators began to display information from the notification—such as the title of an email—rather than a general alert.

[26] Project founder Danielle Foré called the AppCenter the biggest feature in the Loki release, and noted its speed improvement over other installation methods and internal development benefits for departing from Ubuntu's upgrade tools.

He found the web browser and app store changes to be significant improvements, and the email client revamp "a much-needed breath of fresh air" in a stagnating field.

[26] Bryan Lunduke of Network World lauded Loki's performance, usability, polish, and easy installation, but considered it a better fit for new Linux users than for those already established.

The donation has allowed the development team to hire an additional full-time employee and expand long-term viability for the project.

[45] Jack Wallen, writing for TechRepublic, praised the update for bringing subtle changes and improving upon Loki.

[46] Jason Evangelho, writing for Forbes, called the update elegant, stating that "elementary OS 5.0 Juno, thus far, does just work.

They put great emphasis on enhancing system performance and optimizing resource usage to ensure a smoother overall experience.

Additionally, the team introduced a revamped Applications menu, making it easier to navigate and find installed software.

elementary OS 6.0,[51] released on 10 August 2021 under the codename "Odin",[52] builds upon 5.1 Hera by including new features like a dark style and the ability to change the accent color, Improved notification handling and a new Notification Center, Online accounts for things like IMAP and CalDAV for email and calendar respectively, Multi-touch Gestures for app switching and multiple desktops, an all new installer, a firmware updates app and more.

The update introduced improved multitasking, default Flatpak support, and user interface changes focused on inclusive design.