Description
The Ninja BN701 Professional Plus is the step up from Ninja’s long running Professional Blender, and the two changes are power and automation. Ninja lists 1400 peak watts, three Auto-iQ preset programs, Total Crushing blades, a 72 ounce pitcher with a 64 ounce maximum liquid capacity, four speeds and a BPA free dishwasher safe pitcher. The unit measures 9 inches wide, 6.75 inches deep and 17.5 inches high, weighing 8.1 pounds, on a 120 volt supply.
It carries more than 31,000 customer ratings at an average of 4.7 out of 5, which is a substantial evidence base though smaller than the BL610 Professional it succeeds.
Auto-iQ and What It Actually Does
Auto-iQ is Ninja’s preset program system. Three programs are offered here: smoothies, frozen drinks and ice cream. Each runs a fixed pattern of timed pulsing, blending and pausing rather than simply running the motor for a set duration.
The pausing is the part that matters. On a stacked blade blender, ingredients thrown to the walls of the pitcher need a moment to fall back into the blade path. A human operator does this by feel with the pulse button. Auto-iQ does it on a timer. For a household where several people use the blender and results vary, that consistency is genuinely worth something. For someone who already knows how to pulse a blender, it is a convenience rather than a capability.
Three programs is a short list. Everything outside smoothies, frozen drinks and ice cream still has to be done manually on the four speed dial, so this is not a machine that removes technique from blending, only from the three most common jobs.
Reading the 1400 Peak Watt Figure Honestly
The wattage claim needs care. Ninja publishes 1400 peak watts for this blender and 1000 watts for the BL610, and those are not the same measurement. Peak wattage is the maximum instantaneous draw, typically at startup or under stall, not the power the motor sustains through a blend. Operating wattage is the sustained figure.
Ninja is careful about this in its own copy and it is worth repeating the qualifier exactly: Ninja states the motor is more powerful than the original Professional Blender, “versus BL610, based on operating wattage”. So Ninja is claiming a genuine operating wattage advantage. What it does not publish is what that operating wattage actually is. A shopper comparing 1400 against 1000 is comparing a peak figure to an operating figure, and the real gap is smaller than the numbers suggest.
This listing also does not publish an amperage draw, unlike the BL610 listing which gives 12.5 amps.
Capacity, Blades and Cleaning
The 72 ounce Total Crushing pitcher has a 64 ounce maximum liquid capacity. The 72 ounce figure is the vessel volume, the 64 ounce figure is the working limit with liquid, and that distinction is published rather than hidden. Sixty four ounces is roughly four large smoothies.
The stacked blade assembly runs the full height of the pitcher so that ice and frozen fruit at the top get cut rather than riding on the vortex. It is removable, which makes cleaning more thorough and also means a very sharp loose component to handle. The pitcher and blade assembly are both BPA free and dishwasher safe on the top rack. A 15 recipe inspiration guide, instruction booklet and quick start guide are included.
Highlights
- 1400 peak watts with Total Crushing stacked blades.
- Three Auto-iQ preset programs: smoothies, frozen drinks and ice cream.
- 72 ounce Total Crushing pitcher, 64 ounce maximum liquid capacity.
- Four speeds with pulse.
- Removable stacked blade assembly, BPA free and dishwasher safe.
- 15 recipe inspiration guide, instruction booklet and quick start guide included.
- 9 by 6.75 by 17.5 inches, 8.1 pounds, 120 volts.
- Over 31,000 customer ratings averaging 4.7 out of 5.
Things To Consider
The peak wattage figure is the main thing to read carefully, as described above. It is not a false claim, it is a different measurement from the one it will be compared against.
At 17.5 inches high this will not fit under a wall cabinet with the standard 18 inch gap once the lid clearance needed to fill it is allowed for. The BL610 at 15.94 inches does. That is a practical difference for a machine that lives on a counter.
Three preset programs is a narrow set. Ninja’s later machines add substantially more, and the Ninja TB301 takes a different approach again with sensor driven blending.
The stacked blade column takes up interior space and complicates filling the pitcher with large items. And as with the rest of the Ninja range, the warranty is described only as a limited warranty with no duration published, which compares poorly against the five and ten year full warranties Vitamix states.
There is no timer, no variable speed control beyond the four settings, and no hot blending capability, so soups have to be made hot and then blended rather than heated by friction.
No noise rating is published either. Blenders of this design are loud, and adding preset programs does nothing to change that, so the ice cream program running at seven in the morning will be heard through the house.
The three Auto-iQ programs are also fixed rather than adjustable. A program that produces a slightly thicker smoothie than a household prefers cannot be tuned, only abandoned in favor of the manual dial.
Who It Suits and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This suits a household where several people use the blender and consistent results matter more than technique, and where smoothies, frozen drinks and ice cream are the main jobs. The Auto-iQ programs do exactly what they claim on those three, the 72 ounce pitcher covers a family, and the rating base behind it is large.
It is the wrong blender for anyone with an 18 inch cabinet gap, given the 17.5 inch height, and the wrong blender for fine purées, nut butters or hot soups, where a Vitamix E310 Explorian or a commercial grade machine such as the Breville Super Q is the better tool. Buyers who do not need the presets can save money with the simpler countertop blender options, and anyone blending for one should look at the personal size blender range instead.
