<p>The conical solar still has recently demonstrated a significant advancement in passive desalination performance, demonstrating superior performance compared with many conventional still geometries through highly optimized thermal-hydrodynamic synergies. A comprehensive review of the latest advancements reveals that conical configurations, particularly those integrating multifunctional thermal storage media, geometric refinements, and enhanced solar concentration, have elevated freshwater productivity. One of the most advanced reported designs achieved a daily yield of 14.7&#xa0;kg m^–2, representing one of the highest productivities among all passive solar distillation systems. Economic analyses further demonstrate that the conical solar still delivers highly competitive freshwater at a minimum production cost of 0.68 USD m^-3, substantially lower than the global benchmark for small-scale desalination technologies. In parallel, the high-performing conical passive system achieved an outstanding CO₂ mitigation potential of 44.47 tons, highlighting its significant environmental value, especially for off-grid and resource-constrained regions. Collectively, these results confirm that next-generation conical solar stills are no longer incremental improvements but a major advancement in solar-driven desalination. Their superior optical capture, minimized shadowing losses, intensified evaporation–condensation dynamics, and ability to accommodate hybrid energy storage strategies have positioned the conical geometry as one of the most efficient, economically viable, and environmentally beneficial passive desalination designs reported in the literature. This review consolidates these key findings and underscores the conical solar still's growing potential as a scalable, low-carbon solution for sustainable freshwater production in arid and remote communities. A bibliometric analysis by VOS viewer classifies the principal journals in this field.</p>