What is the deal?
The GE Profile Opal 2.0 nugget ice maker is on sale for $464 for Amazon Prime Day — that is 23% off the same old value.
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Why this deal is ZDNET-recommended
- The GE Profile Opal 2.0 nugget ice maker is a great kitchen equipment that sells for $599.
- In order for you these satisfyingly munchable ice pellets typically served at quick meals eating places, this machine will do the trick. It is also operable by way of a cellular app.
- It is expensive, particularly given what it’s, however I’ve discovered the machine properly definitely worth the funding.
Whether or not you name it the great ice, Sonic ice, nugget ice, or pellet ice, there isn’t any denying that the small, munchable ice pellets present in some quick meals eating places are positively addicting.
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I rely myself among the many ice-chewing addicted. And whereas satisfying that craving used to imply a late-night restaurant run, I’ve discovered that ice is now accessible from the consolation of my kitchen with the GE Opal 2.0. And within the month I’ve had this machine, I’ve used it practically each single day. To this point, it is surpassed my expectations.
Like its predecessor, the Opal is a countertop ice maker that guarantees to ship munchable nugget ice proper into your individual dwelling in a modern, trendy package deal. However the 2.0 model provides a plethora of good options to make getting it as simple as doable.
The unit is available in at 16.5″ excessive (which means it matches underneath most cupboards), 16″ deep, and 13.5″ vast (extra waterside tank included). It takes up a hefty footprint in your countertop, however that is true of most gadgets on this class.
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Organising the machine was just a little cumbersome, however wasn’t too horrible for a one-time course of. It concerned creating an account and password, verifying every, connecting to each Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and coming into codes from a label on the again of the machine.
Whereas it is working, the Opal 2.0 makes roughly a pound of ice an hour. There is not any cooler within the catch bin, so you make ice as wanted, and any ice that melts within the bin is recirculated into the water reservoir under.
However the place the Opal 2.0 shines above its competitors is its good connectivity.
All of the good options for the ice maker reside within the Good HQ app, the present dwelling of all GE smart appliances and products. With the app, you possibly can management the bin mild (off, dim, or on), activate the maker, and set a schedule.
You may additionally obtain app alerts when the unit wants cleansing and descaling (a course of that simply entails eradicating a filter, working a really diluted bleach resolution by means of the tank, and draining the road), which is about as soon as a month for me, or if the ice bin wasn’t correctly changed.
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To this point, the good options have labored flawlessly. I arrange a most well-liked schedule after I first received the gadget, and for over a month my ice maker has quietly whirred to life at 6 every morning Monday to Friday and the primary nuggets have hit the bin simply earlier than I get up at 6:15 a.m. Once I turned the schedule off for per week after I was out of city, the ice maker stayed silent.
The on/off characteristic works as meant, as I can toggle the ability button within the app and the machine responds a couple of moments later. That is an particularly helpful characteristic after I’m round city, as I can flip the maker on after I’m headed dwelling and arrive at my favourite ice ready on me.
After all, it is also appropriate with Alexa and Google Dwelling.
Do you want your ice maker to be Alexa-compatible? Properly, it is awfully helpful at instances, like while you’re in the lounge and you want a chilly drink. You may merely communicate the command and ice is on the way in which. I am a sucker for good dwelling tech, and asking Alexa to “make ice” and listening to the machine start buzzing within the subsequent room nonetheless makes me smile each time.
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Like plenty of good dwelling options, I questioned at first whether or not it might be an possibility I would even use, however shortly discovered it changing into part of my each day routine.
The ice bin pulls out for straightforward scooping.
Artie Beaty/ZDNET
There is only one difficulty with the GE Opal 2.0, and it may be a giant one. It is a hefty product, and I do not imply the bodily dimension. The value is available in at nearly $600 (much more with the additional side reservoir), which means this definitely is not an affordable ice maker. Sure, there are extra reasonably priced choices, however none of these present the good capabilities of the Opal, which strikes the needle fairly a bit in my ebook.
GE does not tout the Opal 2.0 nugget ice maker as a budget-friendly possibility. Bluntly, at greater than double the value of inexpensive machines, it is fairly costly for what it’s, and that value will completely be a barrier for some individuals.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
This was a luxurious buy, and I knew that getting into. But it surely’s been fully definitely worth the value thus far. Past performing flawlessly each on the mechanical and technical aspect, it is turn into a little bit of a dialog piece as properly, as everybody who has ever seen it instantly says one thing alongside the traces of “Oh, it makes that ice!?”
So if you end up craving chewable ice as I do and do not thoughts splurging just a little to get that ice on schedule routinely or on the faucet of a cellphone button (and impress your folks within the course of), you will not discover a higher possibility.
