Starlink’s second-generation Mini dish can now run off its own battery. SpaceX says the pack lasts up to 4.5 hours, so the terminal can be set up in a field, a boat or a van with no socket nearby. For now, only invited US customers can place preorders.
The Mini 2 is 23.1 mm thick, down from 38.5 mm on the first Mini, yet it weighs more: about 1.6 kg with the battery and kickstand, and roughly 1.1 kg without. The battery is a 71 Wh unit that clips on without tools and charges over USB-C at 60 W. A 60 W charger and a three-metre cable are packed in.
The price is where the reports split. The Verge looked at invitation screenshots posted on X, which show $999 including 12 months of Roam Unlimited that SpaceX puts at $2,100. Notebookcheck dug through code on the Starlink site and instead finds $249 for the dish and $50 for a spare battery. Both are US figures, and neither comes from a published price list.
That same reading also lists Wi-Fi 6 (the original Mini had Wi-Fi 5) with coverage of about 167 square metres, a 55 degree field of view, a foldable kickstand, a tripod thread and an IP67 rating against dust and water. A physical power button now starts the terminal.
Spare packs cost extra. A drained one can be replaced mid-session, and a 60 W USB-C supply works too. Owners of the first Mini had only third-party packs to lean on.
The Mini line is the portable range, aimed at travel and remote work, and it needs a Roam plan. The Mini 2 page says it is “coming soon” to more customers and countries, naming none.
The previous Mini was already one of Starlink’s easier terminals to carry, and the redesign mainly answers the complaint that it needed external power. SpaceX’s finance chief told investors last month that the company had been stocking retail inventory ahead of the holiday season, which fits a launch timed just before the shopping rush, though the website code suggests early units may go to a small beta group first, as happened with the compact V5 dish.
The dish measures 314 by 263 mm across the face, slightly larger than the first Mini’s 11.75 by 10.2 inches, and the first Mini is cheaper at retailers, so the new model is a trade of weight and price for battery life.
In Pakistan, six satellite internet firms are registered and none is yet cleared to launch, and SpaceX’s page names no date for further countries.
