What is the Vertuo Up?
The newest Vertuo, and the first to treat the tank and the phone as design problems.
Nespresso publishes six cup sizes including 5, 8, 12 and 18oz coffees plus single and double espresso, a fast start ready to brew in 3 seconds, a 47oz multi-position water tank that adjusts to the kitchen layout, a Coffee Creations button for a more concentrated brew over ice, and cup size and temperature adjustment through the Nespresso Smart App.
Three seconds is the specification that changes daily use
Every other machine here takes 25 to 30 seconds, and that gap is the whole experience.
The Vertuo Plus Deluxe and the original Vertuo both publish 25 seconds; the Vertuo Lattissima 30. Those are the numbers that make people leave a machine switched on all day, which is where a pod machine's standby power actually goes.
Three seconds means you walk up and press it. It is the single biggest usability difference in this category and it is rarely discussed, because heat-up time is boring until you live with it.
The multi-position tank is a better idea than the app
A tank you can move to the side, the back or the other side is the fix for a real kitchen.
Most machines fix the reservoir in one place, which decides where the machine can stand: under a wall cupboard you cannot lift a rear tank out, and against a wall you cannot reach a side one. People end up pulling the machine forward every refill.
A 47oz tank that repositions solves that without asking anything of you. It is unglamorous and it is the feature most likely to matter in five years.
The app is the more advertised feature and the smaller one. Adjusting cup size and temperature from a phone is useful once, when you set your preference, and then never again. It is not a reason to choose the machine, and it is worth saying so.
Vertuo Up vs Vertuo Next
The new machine against the one it sits beside, and Up wins on numbers.
The Vertuo Next is narrower and cheaper. The Up brews six sizes to the Next's range, starts in three seconds, and carries the larger repositionable tank.
The Up is also very new, with far fewer reviews behind it, which is a real consideration on a machine with moving parts. If you want the proven one, the Next or the Plus Deluxe. If you want the best of the range as it stands, this.
Is the Vertuo Up worth it?
Worth it as the best Vertuo to live with, at the top of the range's price.
Six sizes to 18oz, three second start and a tank that fits your kitchen are all genuine improvements rather than features. The iced setting brews concentrated rather than simply brewing over ice, which is the right way to do it.
Against that: no frother of any kind is included, the capsule lock-in is total as with every Vertuo, and Nespresso publishes no wattage, no warranty term, no capsule bin capacity and no weight on this listing. It carries under 200 reviews.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if you make coffee in a hurry, in a kitchen where the machine has to fit somewhere awkward.
It suits large-cup drinkers, anybody irritated by waiting for a machine to warm, and a counter where the tank position is a genuine constraint.
Do not buy it for milk drinks without budgeting for an Aeroccino separately, or choose the Vertuo Lattissima instead. And do not buy it if you want a long track record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast does the Vertuo Up heat up?
Three seconds, against 25 to 30 for the rest of the range.
What does the app do?
Adjusts cup size and temperature. Useful for setting a preference once; not a reason to buy the machine.
Does it come with a milk frother?
No. Nothing is included for milk.
What is the largest cup it makes?
18oz, and it also makes 12oz, 8oz, 5oz and both espresso sizes.
Why does the tank move?
It is multi-position, so it can sit where your kitchen allows rather than forcing the machine forward for every refill.
