Solar desalination offers a sustainable solution for freshwater scarcity in the deserts of arid climate, such as in the upper part of Egypt, where an extensive solar irradiance and elevated air temperature are existing most of the year months. However, applications of solar desalination are still limited in these regions due to the low productivity of these systems. Several efforts have been done worldwide mainly to enhance productivity and performance. This article is to review and compare the latest techniques applied to several solar still configurations (i.e., single and double slopes, and pyramid) aimed to enhance productivity and performance. Solar stills with horizontal and inclined absorbers, operated passively or actively were considered in the review. These modifications are to enhance evaporation and/or condensation processes (e. g., metallic fins, black-coating, nanoparticles, sensible and latent heat storage materials, internal and external reflectors, wick absorber, magnets, cover cooling, and integrating different types of solar collectors). The survey revealed that for passive operation, the pyramid solar stills are recommended because of their high productivity. Integrating corrugated absorber coated with black paint, mixed with zeolite crystals, with a pyramid solar still may enhance the daily yield from 3 to 5 L/m2 (conventional flat absorber) to 8-13 L/m2. For active operation, integrating an evacuated tube solar collector with any type of solar still can boost the productivity up to 175 %. Moreover, if the evacuated tube collector was used with a modified absorber pyramid solar still, a superior performance and productivity are expected. Such combination is essential for solving the freshwater scarcity in the desert of arid regions. This review can assist designers to select the optimum design configuration of solar still that achieves the highest productivity at the lowest cost, and suitable for rural and isolated areas.