Starlink launches rugged Mini 2 dish with $50 battery add-on

Starlink just announced the Mini 2 dish that Elon Musk teased not long ago. The Mini 2 is more rugged and comes with a removable 71 Wh battery that SpaceX says lasts up to 4.5 hours, and it clips on and off without tools. The Mini 2 is also thinner and moves up from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6, but it weighs more than the dish it replaces.

Starlink Mini 2 speed and features

Earlier this year, firmware references to a new dish with a built-in battery and a USB-C port surfaced, and they now turn out to have been credible. The backup Mini 2 battery is the main change, and it has a quick-release mechanism, LED status lights, and a USB-C port. The clip-on battery weighs 1.08 lbs (490 g), and the Mini 2 charges it over USB-C at 60 W. The box includes a 60 W wall charger and a 3-meter USB-C cable. A physical power button replaces the old plug-and-go approach. 

The body has changed, and the Mini 2 measures 12.36 × 10.35 × 0.91 inches (314 × 263 × 23.1 mm), while the Mini measures 11.75" x 10.2" x 1.45". That makes it slightly larger across the face but about 0.5 inches thinner. Weight is 3.53 lbs (1.6 kg) with battery and kickstand. The first Mini weighs 2.43 lbs. Subtracting the battery leaves roughly 2.45 lbs for the dish and kickstand, so the pack accounts for the extra weight. Other upgrades include an IP67 rating, Wi-Fi 6 coverage of up to 1,800 sq ft (167 m²), a 55° field of view, a foldable kickstand, and a standard 1/4"-20 tripod thread. The original Mini shipped with Wi-Fi 5, so the router gets a speed jump.

Starlink Mini 2 dish price and release date

In June, Elon Musk appeared to show off the Mini Gen 2 alongside the recently released V5 dish. In last month's earnings call, SpaceX's CFO signaled that the company has been stocking up retail inventory for a holiday sales push. The Mini 2 dish launched just ahead of the holiday shopping spree, indeed, and is currently up for preorder "by invitation for select US customers," with more countries to follow.

If purchased with a Roam plan directly from the manufacturer, the original Mini still ships with a hefty amount off, and the second generation of the portable Starlink dish carries a $100 premium over the discounted older model. References in the backend API code on the Starlink website refer to a "Mini 2 Beta" and a "Mini 2 Beta Kit," suggesting the second-gen portable dish will start rolling out to a small group of beta users first. SpaceX did exactly that with the newest and way more compact Starlink V5 dish, whose dimensions border on the current Mini generation, too.

Starlink lists a price of $249 for the Mini 2 that matches what the first-gen Mini costs at retailers like Best Buy, which makes it a pretty affordable launch price for new hardware. Another code entry called "us-mini-2-battery-beta" seems to confirm a spare battery accessory for the Mini 2 that the listing sells for just $50, indicating that this would be an add-on that users can purchase separately if backup power is desired. The first-gen Mini has no official battery option, which is why third-party vendors like have stepped in with their own packs, like the 99Wh PeakDo clip-on battery available on Amazon, which provides many hours of satellite Internet autonomy in the boondocks.

All in all, if one wants a dish they can set up without hunting for power, the Mini 2's swappable battery makes sense despite the extra $100 if they can get their hand on one when Starlink starts shipping it to end users. If they upload a lot or run the dish from a vehicle's DC supply, however, the $149 original is still the better buy for now. In the meantime, Starlink is offering a discount on the monthly rate of the Roam plan, which the portable dish needs to work, as if to celebrate the launch of the Mini 2.