Water shortage is a significant issue in dry and isolated areas where centralized water systems are not readily available. Solar desalination provides an eco-friendly solution, but its broad implementation is limited by the low output and thermal effectiveness of traditional solar stills. This research tackles this limitation by creating and testing a new tubular solar still combined with evacuated tube collectors (EVTs) to improve thermal efficiency and freshwater output. The suggested system employs high-efficiency EVTs to preheat saline feedwater prior to its entry into a cylindrical distillation chamber that is optimized for maximum solar absorption and evaporation rates. An extensive experimental study was carried out in real climatic conditions in Upper Egypt, with geographical coordinates of latitude 26 degrees 33 ' 39 '' N and longitude 31.41 degrees E, operating under an arid climate from 8 a.m., to 18 p. m., comparing the developed tubular solar still (DTSS) to a traditional tubular solar still functioning simultaneously. The impact of water depth in the basin (10-50 mm) and the quantity of evacuated tubes (2-10) was thoroughly analyzed. Performance indicators encompassed daily freshwater output, thermal efficiency, temperature distribution, and economic viability. Findings show that incorporating evacuated tubes greatly improves system efficiency, resulting in a 297.76% rise in daily water output relative to the traditional tubular still in the same conditions. The highest freshwater output attained was 7.12 kg/m2.day, accompanied by a thermal efficiency of 63.84%. Additionally, the price of produced water was lowered by 66.14%, decreasing from 0.0818 $/L for the traditional design to 0.0277 $/L for the improved system. These results affirm that EVT-enhanced tubular solar stills offer an economical and high-efficiency solution for decentralized freshwater generation in arid areas.