Review of the Vitamix Ascent A3500 Blender

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My unbiased review of the Vitamix Ascent A3500, a powerful and versatile blender packed with a wide range of useful features.

It should be no surprise to anyone that I love blending, and my standard for blenders is set pretty high. I’ve had my trusty old Vitamix 5200 for many years, using it almost daily, so it was a tough decision to upgrade to the A3500.

Having used the Vitamix A3500 for a little over a year now, I think it’s time to share my thoughts on this blender with you. If you’ve been tossing around the idea of upgrading from a cheaper blender or an older Vitamix, below is my experience with the Vitamix Ascent A3500 blender.

You can purchase the Vitamix A3500 from Amazon.

The Vitamix A3500 Ascent Series Smart Blender was released by Vitamix in 2017. Before we go into the details, let’s quickly list the specifications first:

The A3500 is a high-tech, autonomous machine, with 2.2 horsepower at its peak. It offers five program settings for different recipes and self-cleaning, and built-in wireless connectivity partnered with the Vitamix Perfect Blend App.

It also has manual functions, including a programmable timer, variable speed control, and a pulsing feature.

This blender comes with a 64-ounce low-profile container, but Vitamix offers various other containers that you can purchase separately, depending on your needs. The A3500 can automatically detect the container size and adjust its program settings and blending times to suit. How awesome!

In the box, you will find the container together with the motor base, a low-profile tamper, and a handy cookbook. The Vitamix A3500 has a standard ten-year warranty covering all parts, labor, and shipping, and it’s made in the USA.

Vitamix A3500 Ascent Series

• Five program settings: smoothies, hot soups, dips and spreads, frozen desserts...
• Auto adjusts blending times and speeds for the specific container used and stops...
• Built-in digital timer and Variable Speed Control streamline manual recipes

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There are many good things to say about this modern, feature-rich blender, but here are my top 3 reasons you should consider buying a Vitamix A3500.

1. No Job Too Difficult

I loved my Vitamix 5200, and one of the main reasons was that there was nothing it couldn’t blend to a silky smooth consistency.

Vitamix advertises their blenders not as having the most horsepower, but as being so well-designed that they can offer a perfect blend every time without wearing out the motor, using heaps of power, or being super loud.

This is really important to someone like me who uses their blender every day to make so many different things. The A3500, luckily, is no different.

Smoothies and nut butters are where this blender excels for me. I like my smoothies with a bit of ice and definitely no lumps, which can burn a cheaper blender over time. Nut butter is another dish I prefer with a very fine and smooth consistency every single time.

I find that the A3500 manages to cut through anything I throw at it (hard or soft) without any issues.

2. Powerful Pre-Set Programs

This second reason is probably where the A3500 is a real step up from my 5200.

Five program settings come as a default with the blender. With a simple press of one button, you can blend anything from a smoothie to ice cream without changing any other controls.

You can walk away, and less than a minute later, you will have your breakfast blend sitting there waiting for you. The default settings for these five programs are spot on as well; you can expect the same consistent result.

The touchscreen interface puts these buttons front and center on the blender, so they are easy to find and wipe down. Think of them as the speed dial on your blender.

Now, if you really want to unlock the potential of this blender, the next step is to start using the Vitamix Smart Blend app. This gives you access to 17 automated blending programs and 500+ recipes that you can sync via Bluetooth and send to your blender.

This app is pretty sophisticated. If you want to use it to its full potential, it can even help you develop your own recipes using ingredients from your pantry, and it can send the calorie information from your recipes straight to your fitness app as well.

I have to say, Vitamix has done a pretty fantastic job designing a holistic experience for a tech-savvy user. I think if you are going to make the investment in a Vitamix Smart Blender over another Vitamix model, you need to use these features to their full potential.

But I will be honest here. Personally, I don’t use the app because I’m the kind of person who likes to keep things simple. But should you want to use it, it’s available to you and works quite well.

3. A Container for Every Meal

Another cool feature is how this blender automatically adjusts its pre-set programs when changing containers.

If you haven’t bought a Vitamix before, you should know that they offer a super-comprehensive range of other containers that are compatible with this blender. If you are after a smaller size, or a container to suit different recipes, you can find it in their collection.

A good example is if you want to make a smoothie versus a nut butter. Using a smaller, shallower container bowl instead of the regular container will make it much easier for you to scoop out and spread the butter.

The A3500 is so clever that it automatically detects when you switch containers, and changes its speed and timing settings to suit.

By default, the Vitamix Ascent A3500 comes with a large, 64 oz container. This is a very generously-sized jar that allows you to bulk prepare smoothies and soups, which I often find myself doing.

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Vitamix currently has four different Ascent blenders on offer:

• A2300
• A2500
• A3300
• A3500

Let’s take a look at the main differences between the A3500 and the A2300, which is the entry-level blender in the Ascent series.

The Ascent A3500 has 5 program settings for smoothies, hot soups, frozen desserts, dips and spreads, and self-cleaning, whereas the Ascent 2300 doesn’t have any program settings at all. If convenience and consistency are important to you, it’s worth choosing the A3500 over the A2300.

Vitamix Ascent A2300 Blender

• Built-In Wireless Connectivity: The motor base will automatically adjust the...
• Digital Timer: A built-in digital timer removes the guesswork with recipes you...
• Pulse Feature: With the Pulse feature, layer coarse chops over smooth purées...

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Another difference is that the A3500 has a touchscreen interface rather than classic buttons and switches. The A2300 has a more bare-bones look with a more traditional switch button and no touchscreen interface.

The third difference is that the A3500 has a super handy programmable timer, allowing users to pre-set the length of their blend, after which it will turn the machine off automatically.

If you would like to learn more about the Ascent A2300, check out my Vitamix Ascent A2300 review.

I love this blender, and as a Vitamix user, I think the upgrade from my 5200 was totally worth it. But I recognize that the investment may not be for everyone, so let me clarify why it works so well for me.

I use my blender every day, not just for a single smoothie but for a million different recipes, many I discovered through the Vitamix app and cookbook. I’m passionate about health and cooking, and I need a blender that consistently blends at a high standard every time.

If you’re coming from a Nutri-bullet or a Ninja, the A3500 may seem like a substantial upfront cost. But if you are replacing your blender every two years or less, think about how these costs and hassles compare to making one purchase of a robust product.

And if all of the high-tech programs of the A3500 aren’t your thing, remember that you are first and foremost getting a super reliable and powerful blender from one of the leading brands on the market.