Vitamix's flagship Ascent blender has flashy technology too

[MUSIC] The $620 Vitamix Ascent 3500 looks like other fancy blenders on the market. It has a big, heavy 15 pound base, it has a large 64 ounce pitcher, its blades are attached to the pitcher too, so they're easier and safer to Keep clean. The machine comes with handy preset blending programs to make smoothies, frozen drinks, soups, and dips by pressing a button. This blender is also kind of high tech. The base and the jar talk to each other through NFC technology. And in theory, different jars will help the Ascent alter its auto-blending Programs to match the size and style of jar you're using. Unfortunately, Vitamix says the other jars, 8 and 20 ounce versions, won't hit store shelves until some time later in 2017. You can use the blender with the Perfect Blend mobile app 2 which walks you through a library of pre-approved Vitamix recipes. The scale costs $100 extra though, and you're already paying a hefty bundle for the appliance. While this high tech abilities are neat, $620 is a ton money to pay for any blender. But if you said 3,500 performs well, but Not quite as well as older Vitamix model we've tested. And that makes it tough to recommend. I suggest scooping up a refurbished Vitamix 7500 or checking out more affordable machines from Blendtec or Ninja.