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Jun 13, 2023

GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker Review 2023

Unless I’m in Iceland in the middle of winter and it’s snowing sideways, you’ll probably never see me without a chilled drink in my hands. I just love — no, crave — an icy-cold drink. No matter the

Unless I’m in Iceland in the middle of winter and it’s snowing sideways, you’ll probably never see me without a chilled drink in my hands. I just love — no, crave — an icy-cold drink. No matter the season, temperature, or time of day, I’m definitely that person who’s reaching for an iced coffee even though it’s well into soup season.

The investment-worthy GE Profile Opal 2.0 makes chewy nugget ice that quickly chills drinks without too much diluting. It’s also marked down during Williams Sonoma’s Fourth of July sale.

Making that cold drink, though, isn’t the easiest thing to do if you don’t have a built-in ice maker in your fridge, or your freezer is too packed to fit traditional ice trays, or you’ve got thirsty guests hanging out in the kitchen. Oh, you’ve been there too? Then allow me to make the case for the GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker, which I’ve been using for more than a year.

In my previous life as a product tester, I put six popular countertop ice machines to the test, three of which were nugget ice machines. The GE Opal 2.0 was the best countertop nugget ice machine after testing.

Much of what I love about this ice machine is in the name: It makes nugget ice! And lots of it — quickly and quietly, too. This is the crunchy, chewy, flaky ice that you’d often get at restaurants, bars, and the classic fast-food joint Sonic, which is why some call it Sonic ice. Nugget ice is much smaller and has many nooks and crannies compared to the smooth, bullet-shaped ice that most other countertop machines produce. This helps maximize how much liquid you can pour into your cup and quickly cools drinks without diluting them as much — because really, who wants watered-down coffee or cocktails?

The Opal 2.0 churns out up to 24 pounds of nugget ice a day, which is a lot even for someone like me who adds half a cup of ice into every drink. The machine itself is fairly easy to use — setting it up just involves connecting a few tubes from the base tank to the water tank, and running a cleaning cycle. It also looks much sleeker than others I’ve used, with a streamlined silhouette; even though it’s slightly large and similar in size to an air fryer, it still fits underneath my standard-height kitchen cabinets.

The noise level is almost zilch, but we’re splitting hairs at this point. The machine is super quiet when it’s not in use, but it’ll hum like a fridge when it’s making more ice. At this point, though, I’ve just forgotten about it and it’s essentially like white noise.

Fellow editor Sarah Vazquez also named it one of her top 10 countertop ice makers because of its Wi-Fi capability. If you connect the machine to the free SmartHQ app via your phone, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant, you can make a batch of freshly made ice, run a cleaning cycle, and even turn on the internal light all remotely. This last bit is going to cost a premium, though.

Yes, the GE Opal 2.0 goes on sale — rarely, but it happens! In fact, there’s a decent sale right now during Williams Sonoma’s Fourth of July sale. Depending on the finish you choose, the price is down to $579.95 from the original $629.95. This doesn’t make the machine cheap by any means, but it’s still a great deal.

In fact, Williams Sonoma is probably your best bet for the GE Opal 2.0 because of its little-known price-matching guarantee. If you find the same product at a lower price from Amazon, Sur la Table, Bloomingdales, Macy’s, or Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma will match it — granted that the terms and conditions are met, of course. Even so, it all but ensures the lowest price at Williams Sonoma. Buy: GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker, $579.95-$599.95 (originally $629.95-$649.95)