# elementary OS 15 Hacker News commenters recommended elementary OS and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** Recommended as a polished, beginner-friendly Linux desktop with a macOS-like look and smooth battery life. Critics say it is too limiting and lacks macOS features like global menus. ## Why people recommend it - macOS-like desktop look and feel (3 comments): "ElementaryOS is supposed to be a very clean transition environment for mac refugees" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47225193)) "with its desktop environment resembling macOS" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47232719)) "have superb Apple flavored UI and UX" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47310588)) - Beginner-friendly Linux desktop (2 comments): "beginner-friendly operating system in the same way that Fedora/LinuxMint/OpenSUSE/Pop!_OS/Ubuntu/ElementOS are" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46797050)) "My 12 year old cousins havE daily driven ElementaryOS for a year" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47861315)) - Hardware mostly just works (2 comments): "everything just works, i never ever had to worry about drivers or stuff like that" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48369695)) "she's been using that laptop almost problem-free for two months now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46774176)) ## What people warn about - macOS resemblance only skin-deep (2 comments): "Elementary/Pantheon resembles macOS only aesthetically." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46493017)) "only interested in the surface fascia of macOS" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49515052)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Ubuntu](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ubuntu.md): 560 recommend - [Debian](https://hackerapproved.com/p/debian.md): 552 recommend - [Fedora Linux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fedora.md): 437 recommend - [Arch Linux](https://hackerapproved.com/p/arch-linux.md): 362 recommend - [Linux Mint](https://hackerapproved.com/p/linux-mint.md): 277 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "elementary OS", https://hackerapproved.com/p/elementary-os/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).