The Ninja Smart Screen is a pretty straightforward blender with a few timed modes. It does an amazing job at crushing ice but isn't the best for single-serve smoothies. It's very well-built and is dishwasher-safe, which is nice if you don't have the time to hand-wash it. This blender does a great job at processing nuts and is great for larger portions thanks to its 72oz jar.
Our Verdict
The Ninja Smart Screen is a decent multi-purpose blender. It's outstanding to crush ice with and is very well-built. It's easy to clean and is dishwasher-safe as well. Unfortunately, it isn't the best for smoothies since there's a lot of oxygen mixed into the drink and it creates a foamy and grainy drink. It also isn't recommended for hot blending, so it isn't suitable for hot mixes like soups.
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Outstanding at crushing ice.
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Very solid build quality.
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Jar and blades are dishwasher safe.
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Has trouble processing fibrous ingredients like kale.
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No single serve jars.
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Foamy and grainy-textured smoothies.
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Can't hot blend.
The Ninja Smart Screen is good enough for smoothies and protein shakes, but won't be ideal for single serves. It blends a very foamy and grainy smoothie. However, if you want to crush ice with it, this blender does an outstanding job and is quite easy to clean after you're done with it.
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Outstanding at crushing ice.
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Very solid build quality.
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Jar and blades are dishwasher safe.
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Has trouble processing fibrous ingredients like kale.
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No single serve jars.
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Foamy and grainy-textured smoothies.
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Can't hot blend.
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Outstanding at crushing ice.
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Very solid build quality.
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Jar and blades are dishwasher safe.
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Can't hot blend.
The Ninja Smart Screen is outstanding at crushing ice. It's a very well-built blender and the blade assembly has no trouble crushing down a lot of ice cubes to snow-like quality in no time.
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Outstanding at crushing ice.
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Very solid build quality.
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Jar and blades are dishwasher safe.
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Can't hot blend.
The Ninja Smart Screen isn't suitable for this use. Hot blends aren't recommended because the heat causes too much of a pressure build-up inside the jar. The user manual specifically advises against hot blending.
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Outstanding at crushing ice.
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Very solid build quality.
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Jar and blades are dishwasher safe.
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Can't hot blend.
The Ninja Smart Screen is a very good blender for professional use thanks to its large jar capacity and its great build quality. It also does exceptionally well when it comes to crushing ice for your favorite cocktails.
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Outstanding at crushing ice.
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Very solid build quality.
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Jar and blades are dishwasher safe.
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High capacity jar.
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Has trouble processing fibrous ingredients like kale.
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No single serve jars.
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Can't hot blend.
- 6.4 Multi-Purpose
- 6.9 Smoothies (Single Serving)
- 7.2 Smoothies (Multiple Servings)
- 9.7 Ice Crushing
- 4.6 Soups
- 7.8 Professional Use
- Updated Sep 06, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.0.
- Updated Sep 16, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Sep 08, 2020: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ninja Smart Screen is a pretty bare-bones blender on its own, but it has some variants with a lot more accessories like the Ninja Smart Screen DUO or the Ninja Screen Kitchen System with FreshVac Technology. While these products seem to have the same main blender base and jar, we don't expect our review to be valid for those as they come with more blades, jars, and accessories.
Compared To Other Blenders
The Ninja Smart Screen is a rather straightforward blender with four preset timed modes. It's fairly well-built like other Ninja blenders but doesn't quite feel as premium as some Vitamix blenders we've tested. It also doesn't come with single-serve sized jars so it might not be ideal for people looking for a blender to make smoothies.
The Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System with Auto-iQ has more attachments than the Ninja Smart Screen. The Professional Plus comes with two additional 24-oz personal jars and a food processor attachment. Thanks to its personal jars, it also makes a better-blended smoothie. That said, the Smart Screen makes a smoother, more spreadable almond butter.
The Ninja Smart Screen and the Ninja Professional Plus Blender with Auto-iQ perform similarly, so you may prefer either. The biggest difference is that the Smart Screen is easier to use to process hard ingredients like nuts and makes a smoother nut butter. It also has a digital blending time indicator. On the other hand, the Professional is much quieter when it's running.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher System is better than the Ninja Smart Screen for most purposes. The Foodi makes smoother, more spreadable almond butter and better-blended smoothies. In addition to its main jar, it comes with two personal jars. There's also a dough blade included that you can use with the main jar, but we don't currently test it. On the other hand, the Smart Screen makes crushed ice with a better texture. It also has a much better build quality.
The Blendtec Classic 575 is a better blender than the Ninja Smart Screen if you're looking to do some hot blends. The Blendtec also has a 2-part lid that allows you to add some ingredients mid-mix. On the other hand, if you're looking for a blender for smoothies or almond butter, the Ninja is a better option, even though it's not the best. However, the Ninja is outstanding when it comes to crushing ice down to snow-like quality.
The NutriBullet Blender Combo is better for smoothies than the Ninja Smart Screen. It comes with personal jars for blending single-serve drinks and it's much better for processing fibrous ingredients, so kale smoothies come out silky-smooth. It can hot blend, so it's also a better choice for recipes like soup. It's quieter and easier to clean by hand. On the other hand, the Ninja can crush ice. It's also much better for making nut butter.
The Vitamix Explorian E310 is a better blender than the Ninja Smart Screen. It has a better build quality, it's easier to clean by hand, and it makes a much smoother blend with fibrous ingredients like kale. On the other hand, the Ninja's main pitcher has a bigger capacity and it has the edge when it comes to crushing ice.
The Ninja Mega Kitchen System is better than the Ninja Smart Screen for most purposes. The Kitchen System makes a smoother blend with fibrous ingredients, so it's much better for making single servings as well as big batches of smoothies. It has more extras, like personal jars meant for smoothies and a food processing bowl. However, the Smart Screen has a few programs for automatic blending, and it makes better nut butter with less effort.
The Ninja DUO is a better blender than the Ninja Smart Screen. The DUO creates a much more enjoyable smoothie than the Smart Screen and comes with a micro-juicer attachment. On the other hand, the Smart Screen is much easier to clean and crushes ice better than the DUO.
The Ninja Foodi Power Pitcher SS201 is better than the Ninja Smart Screen for most purposes. The Foodi has a speed dial and a few preset modes, including a self-clean cycle and a crushed ice program. It makes smoother, more spreadable almond butter and better-blended smoothies. On the other hand, the Smart Screen is much easier to clean by hand.
Test Results
This blender is quite bulky. It has to be stored directly on your kitchen counter or in a very large cupboard. On the upside, you can easily just detach the main jar from the base and store them separately.
This Ninja blender, like most from this brand, is very well-built. Even though the base is made out of plastic, it feels sturdy and solid. The jar might not feel as premium as some others found on Vitamix blenders, but it still feels rigid. Unfortunately, the contact point between the bottom of the jar and the transmission feels cheap.
The blade assembly can easily be removed for easy cleaning, and can even go in the dishwasher. The blades are very sharp so you might need to be extra careful when removing them.
The Ninja CT650's lid is a bit annoying to set as it needs to be in a specific orientation in order to be locked. It also doesn't allow you to put in any ingredients while you're mixing, unless it can fit in the small serving beak.
The power cord is long enough to reach nearby outlets, but there isn't any stowaway compartment to hide it if you're storing the blender, which can be annoying for some.
When making smoothies with the main large jar, the result is just okay. The Smoothie Mode is a 70-second cycle that starts by three short pulses and then begins to make longer pulses afterward. Lots of ingredients like kale can be pushed to the side and need reprocessing at the end of the cycle. The result is a very oxygenated drink with a foamy, grainy texture. The overall texture is quite sticky and not very pleasant to drink.
This Ninja Smart Screen variant doesn't come with any additional jars. If you're looking for a Ninja blender that can make an excellent smoothie using a smaller, personal-sized jar, check out the Ninja DUO.
This blender is outstanding for crushing ice. It takes no time at all to crush a lot of ice down to snow-like consistency.
The Ninja Smart Screen is very good for making almond butter. It processes nuts very well, though you might need to stop your blend and mix in some dry bits that made their way to the side of the jar. The result is a bit sticky and grainy and can be fairly well-spread. It also doesn't take too much time to make, which is nice.
The Ninja CT650 only has two different speeds, and a dedicated pulse button, which is nice. It's quite loud on its max settings, too.
This blender seems to have different modes in 'Smoothie', 'Frozen Drink', 'Puree', and 'Ice Cream', but these act more as timed modes. When using both the High and Low speeds, you'll start a stopwatch that lets you know how long you've been blending, but it'll stop if you use the pulse function.
Cleaning this blender is extremely easy. You can easily wash away smoothie and almond butter residue with soapy water, and you can even take out the blade assembly. However, you need to be very careful as the blades are very sharp. You can even put the jar and the blades in the dishwasher if needed.
