GE Profile Opal Nugget Ice Maker 2.0 Review – The Best Portable Nugget Ice Maker?
When we reviewed the original Opal Nugget Ice Maker, I instantly fell in love with the nugget ice. I didn’t think that it could get any better, but I was wrong. The Opal Nugget Ice Maker 2.0 was a surprising announcement by GE, and I was excited to get the opportunity to test it out finally. What I learned was fantastic, and I’m excited to share my findings with you.
The Opal 2.0 produces soft chewable nugget ice. Why is this ice so good? There are several reasons. The first reason is that it’s chewable. If you’re an ice chewer, then you have to try nugget ice – it’s amazing. You can head down to the newest Sonic Drive-Tru and grab a cup of ice to see what I’m talking about.
Related: Read about the NewAir Nugget Ice Maker – The Competition
Second, nugget ice is porous. This means it absorbs your beverage’s flavor, so you get to enjoy it right to the last drop.
Lastly, nugget ice fills your glass with ice. Because it’s small pieces of ice, it compactly fills your cup right to the top, so when you add your beverage – it’s instantly chilled.
The Opal 2.0 let’s you enjoy the benefit of this soft chewable ice at home.
This was a review from the new GE Profile Opal 2.0 from a happy customer: “Prior to purchasing, I made daily trips to Sonic for the ice. This machine saves me from making that trip.”
Related: The KBgoodice Self-Dispensing Nugget Ice Maker Review
This article is my experience with the new Opal Countertop Nugget Ice Maker. I’m going to see if it’s worth purchasing, and if you should make the leap to purchase it for your home.
Let’s begin.
The Design of the GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker
The Opal 2.0 has a brand newish, elegant design that’s sure to please. It’s a similar design to the original Opal Nugget Ice Maker with a few upgrades. When I saw this portable ice maker, I knew immediately that it was the new Opal – it just has that look.
Related: The Best Portable Ice Makers Available – Check Out My List
At the top of the unit, you’re going to find a matted metal that provides you with all of the ice maker’s controls.
Note: The Opal 2.0 provides you with two types of stainless steel to choose from – black stainless steel or regular stainless steel.
On the top panel, you have three buttons: power, light (on, dim, and off), and clean. The original Opal Nugget Ice Maker gave you the one-button design; now, the easy to operate portable nugget ice maker has become even more simple to use.
Your status indicator is on the top left, which tells you what action your ice maker is performing – whether it’s making ice or cleaning the unit.
Below the ice storage bin and wrapped around the unit’s sides, you have glossy, high-quality stainless steel. To the unit’s right, it comes with a sleek new side tank that’s attached to a water line that feeds into the back of the ice maker.
The storage bin looks great. It’s a removable bin that pulls out so that you can easily scoop the nugget ice (The ice maker also comes with a plastic ice scoop).
It also has a tray at the bottom of the ice maker that collects dropped ice or water. It’s not the deepest drip tray, but it works. The Opal 2.0 gives you the ability to turn off the LED-backlit ice storage bin or dim it – I thought this was a great touch.
Overall, though the Opal 2.0’s design is very similar to the original Opal Nugget Ice Maker the right corrections where made.
Related: Opal Flake Ice Maker Review
The Opal is very stylish and has a modern design. It looked great on my countertop and fit nicely into the decor of my kitchen.
The Best Features of the GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker
This countertop nugget ice maker produces 24 pounds of nugget ice every day. This is one pound of chewable ice every hour.
Is this enough nugget ice for your home? Well, let’s break it down. If you’re having a party, you’re going to need about 1 or 2 pounds of nugget ice per person.
The storage bin can hold 3 pounds of ice at one time. When the bin is full, the ice maker will pause; as the nugget ice melts, the Opal 2.0 will always keep it full. This worked well, and I found that I always had lots of ice available when I needed it. The ice at the top was fresh and tasted great.
The side tank is built into the Opal 2.0. In the original model, you had to purchase the side tank separately. This gives you 3x more water, which means that you’ll get more ice and have to fill the water reservoir less. Customers still want to attach the Opal to a water source permanently, but this option isn’t available in the second generation – here’s hoping for version 3.0!
Another upgrade in the Opal 2.0 is the connectivity to its app – SmartHQ.
The last model provided Bluetooth connectivity, which meant it would only connect if you were close by. The Opal 2.0 gives you WI-FI connectivity, so now you can connect to the Opal 2.0 using the SmartHQ app when you’re on the go.
This allows you to schedule when your ice maker will begin making ice, and you can see its status anytime you want to. I never bothered with the Opal app in the original unit because it was only Bluetooth; I didn’t need to open the app and create a schedule or check the status when I was always nearby. The Wi-Fi connection makes far more sense to me, and I can see myself using it from time to time.
The Opal 2.0 provides great tasting ice.
I found that the ice was crisp and chewable, and paired perfectly with my beverages. The built-in filtration system is a nice touch as well, which always gives me great tasting ice for my friends and family.
Is It Worth the Upgrade?
The short answer is no.
Even though I liked the changes to the Opal 2.0, it’s not worth the price to upgrade if you have the original Opal Nugget Ice Maker.
I found that they missed on two important needs: the ice production quantity and speed of making ice.
It still takes 15 minutes before you’re going to have nugget ice and a while before your storage bin is full. This compared to its competition the NewAir Nugget Ice which makes 40 pounds of nugget ice a day.
The upgrades in the design, mobile app, and simplicity of use are a noticeable difference and a step in the right direction; it’s just not worth the price of purchasing the Opal 2.0 if you’re already an Opal owner.
If you are currently looking to purchase a countertop nugget ice maker, then the Opal 2.0 is a worthy competitor to the NewAir Nugget Ice Maker and the KBice Nugget Ice Self-Dispensing Ice Maker.
The Price of the GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker
It’s not cheap.
The GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker is going to cost you anywhere from $550-$700.
Is there cheaper portable ice makers on the market? Yep. They’re not going to compare to this unit, though.
There are 5 reasons why, though pricy, I believe its worth the investment.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed using this portable ice maker, and I thought that the ice it produced was awesome.
It’s by far the best looking portable ice maker in town!
If you are looking for a portable ice maker that produces real, soft, chewable nugget ice then the Opal 2.0 is a great choice for you.
It’s Ice Maker Geeks approved!
