ecozy Smart Nugget Ice Maker Review – World’s 1st App-Connected Countertop Ice Maker

Touted as the World’s very first “smart” nugget ice maker in a compact size, the ecozy is a newly released countertop ice maker that seems to have a lot going for it.

Offering app-connectivity through the ecozy Home app, you can control it directly from your smartphone or tablet. Besides that, its ability to create fresh, chewable ice within a matter of minutes is quite enticing.

I’ve spent the last two weeks testing the ecozy smart portable pebble ice maker, and I’m here to share my findings. Today, I’ll give you the rundown of the good, bad, and everything in-between. Let’s begin with unboxing.

Unboxing and Setup

Inside the box you’ll find a few notable inclusions. First, you have the main ice maker unit itself. The thing weighs quite a bit, at around 21lbs, and feels like a solid, well-made kitchen appliance. With a footprint of roughly 8″ x 10″ and 13″ tall, it’s got a nice amount of heft to it, although it doesn’t take up a whole lot of space on your countertop. There’s even a built-in handle on the top, making it relatively easy to scoot around.

Also inside the box you have a stainless steel cup, plastic ice scoop, cleaning kit (syringe), and several plastic ice bags. In addition, there’s a quick start guide, user manual, and a sheet of fun, colorful stickers.

Setting it up is a piece of cake. All you need to do is remove the upper ice tray, fill with clean water below the “max” line, and press the main “ice” button on the front of the unit. It’ll immediately start-up with a whirring fan on the side, and begin producing ice in a matter of minutes.

If you’d like, you can setup the app-connectivity. It’s a nice bonus, but not necessarily required for producing ice.

To set it up, install the ecozy home app on your smartphone or tablet, press and hold the main ice/clean button, and wait for the WiFi LED on the front of the ice maker to begin blinking. At this time, it’ll pair to your phone, so as long as you’re connected to a 2.4GHz WiFi network.

Let’s get right into the good, and then move on to some potential downsides.

NOTE: Purchase the ecozy smart ice maker on Amazon and use code 10QMEEVF for a 10% discount.

What I Like About It

• Super simple to use – Getting it setup and producing ice is very easy. The process only takes a quick-minute to learn, and once you know how, it produces a significant amount of ice in a matter of minutes.

• App connectivity – It’s no secret that the ecozy smart ice maker is the first-ever countertop ice maker that connects to your phone or tablet. This is a pretty neat feature and surprisingly, it works very well. The app runs smoothly and it opens up a realm of options so you can adjust settings, set schedules, or check the status of the appliance. Although it’s not a requirement, it does make ice making a bit more fun!

• Ice consistency and size – The size, shape, and feel of the ice cubes it produces is remarkable. The pebble-like ice is the perfect size for chewing and is easy on the teeth. The pieces aren’t too large, either, so you can use them in your beverages or prepare them in mixed drinks without having to deal with rock-hard ice. The ice pebbles are roughly 1 centimeter cubes, so you’re getting much smaller ice pieces that you’d get out of your home freezer or ice cube trays.

• Easy to clean – The cleaning process is very simple. All you need to do is press the main ice/clean button twice while it’s in standby mode, and the ice maker will run itself through a thorough cleaning process. It’s not something you need to do all the time, but when you haven’t used it in a while. The cleaning process takes around 15 minutes and takes all of the manual labor out of an otherwise monotonous process. Once the cleaning cycle is complete, simply remove the drain plug and let the ice maker drain-out any excess water. And if for any reason you’d like to perform a more-thorough cleaning, mix white vinegar and water in a 1:5 ratio, pour this into the water tank, and run the self-cleaning again.

• Great build quality – I’m a big fan of the overall construction and ease of use that the ecozy smart ice maker offers. The stainless steel exterior, black accented plastic, and clear ice tray make for an aesthetically pleasing appearance that pairs well with virtually any kitchen, countertop, or office break room. Everything seems to be made very well.

NOTE: Purchase the ecozy smart ice maker on Amazon and use code 10QMEEVF for a 10% discount.

Potential Downsides

• Does not “cool” the produced ice – Once the ice is created, it piles up in the upper compartment. However, the ice maker does not maintain the ice at a consistently subfreezing temperature. Soon after it makes the ice, you’ll need to either use it up or transfer the remaining ice into a freezer. But thankfully, if you accidently leave it within the ice tray, it’ll melt and the water will return to the water tank, where it will re-make the ice automatically. Simply put – it won’t leak-out and create a mess, and it will continuously create ice on its own.

• Full tank of ice may take a while – While it produces the first ice cubes within just a couple of minutes, an entire tank of ice takes around 1 hour to complete. Although this may seem relatively slow, it’s still faster than traditional freezing ice cube trays that can take 3 or 4 times as long.

• Noise – It should be noted that the ice maker does produce a bit of fan noise. While it’s not entirely loud, it can be heard clearly from across the room. By in no means is this incredibly loud, but it does emit a constant noise while ice is being produced.

• Price-point – There’s no debating that the ecozy smart ice maker is much more expensive than a traditional countertop ice maker. Being that it offers app-connectivity, there’s a much higher price-point than other options that don’t offer this kind of “smart” connection.

Final Thoughts

The ecozy smart countertop ice maker is quite unique in that it offers a direct connection to your smartphone or tablet through an app. The app itself works great, and offers a lot to love, although I personally don’t find it to be all that necessary. Sure, it’s cool that it connects to your phone and you can control it remotely, but is that truthfully needed? No – but it sure is a cool feature!

In terms of producing ice, it does that very well. The ice it makes is super-small, crunchy, and easy to chew. It’s the perfect shape and consistency to enjoy directly, use in mixed drinks, or any beverages that you please.

While it doesn’t actually “cool” the produced ice, it does create a decent amount of ice in about an hour. This is much quicker than the traditional way of using an ice tray and even the built-in ice maker that your freezer may offer.

Although it does produce some noise, it’s not that big of deal. All in all, if you’re needing a fun and reliable way to produce delectable ice from your countertop, the ecozy smart ice maker offers a great way to do so. Sure, it may come at a slightly steeper price-point, but it has “smart” connectivity that you simply can’t find elsewhere.