Starlink Mini 2 vs Mini: thinner, heavier, $999 with service

The short answer is that the Mini 2 trades a little weight for a lot of independence. These are the changes that matter most when you put the two dishes side by side:

• Power: the original Mini needs an outside power source, such as a wall plug, a car socket or a power bank. The Mini 2 has its own removable battery, so it can run on its own for up to 4.5 hours.
• Battery swaps: the pack attaches to the back with a quick-release clip and comes off without tools. You can swap in a second charged pack when the first runs low.
• Wi-Fi: the built-in router jumps from Wi-Fi 5 to Wi-Fi 6, with coverage of up to 1,800 square feet (167 square metres).
• Thickness: the Mini 2 is 23.1mm thin, against 38.5mm for the first model, so roughly half an inch slimmer.
• Weight: it weighs 3.53 pounds (1.6 kg) with the battery and kickstand fitted. The original weighs about 2.43 pounds.
• Controls: a physical power button and battery status lights replace the old approach where the dish simply switched on when you plugged it in.
• Mounting: it adds a foldable kickstand and a standard 1/4-inch-20 tripod mounting thread, so it can sit on a regular tripod.

The face of the dish is slightly larger, at 12.36 by 10.35 inches compared with 11.75 by 10.2 inches on the original. It keeps an IP67 dust- and waterproof rating, so it is still built for outdoor use, and SpaceX lists a 55-degree field of view for finding satellites.

SpaceX says up to 4.5 hours on a full charge. That covers an evening at a campsite or a few hours of emergency internet, but for longer stretches you will need a spare pack or a USB-C power source.

The pack itself weighs 490 grams, or about 1.08 pounds, so carrying a spare is realistic. It has its own USB-C port and LED lights, and it charges at 60W over USB-C Power Delivery. The dish can also run straight from a 60W USB-C source with no battery doing the work.

That last point matters more than it sounds. With the first Mini, owners who wanted to go off-grid had to buy a third-party clip-on power bank. Now the power is built in, and the box already includes a 60W wall charger and a 3-meter USB-C cable along with the battery and kickstand.

Getting online is fast once you have a clear view of the sky: Starlink says about 60 seconds.

Here is the catch. The only way to buy a Mini 2 today is a $999 preorder package, and it is invitation-only for select US customers. That price, plus applicable taxes, includes the dish and 12 months of Roam Unlimited service, which SpaceX values at $2,100.

You don’t pay it all up front. Invited buyers put down a refundable $100 deposit, and SpaceX charges the remaining $899 plus tax when the dish ships. First shipments are expected to start in mid-December.

Roam Unlimited is the plan built for people on the move. It gives unlimited data, works while driving at up to 100 mph, and lets you use the service in another country for up to 30 days at a time. If you would be paying for that plan for a year regardless, the bundle is a strong deal. If you only want a dish for a couple of camping weekends, it is a lot of money up front.

Possibly, but nothing is official yet. Code on Starlink’s website lists a $249 Mini 2 beta kit and a $50 spare battery, and those entries were spotted before the launch. The same code refers to a Mini 2 beta, which suggests a small group of early users may get the dish first, as happened with Starlink’s V5 dish.

Treat those numbers as a hint, not a price. SpaceX hasn’t confirmed them, and backend listings don’t tell you what the dish will cost in stores. Until SpaceX publishes a retail price, the $999 bundle is the only figure it has put its name to.

For now, you can’t buy one. Starlink says preorders are coming soon to more customers and countries, but there is no Canadian or UK price and no arrival date. Starlink’s Mini 2 page lets Canadians sign up to be told when it lands.

That leaves the original Mini as the portable option outside the US. It still works well if you can feed it power from a car, a wall socket or a power bank, and it is lighter to carry. Some existing Canadian customers have also seen a 30% monthly discount offer in the Starlink app, so check before you commit to anything new.

It depends on how you power your dish today. If yours lives on a car socket or a camper’s built-in power, the battery adds weight and cost without solving a problem you have. If you carry a power bank everywhere, or you want an emergency backup you can grab and set up in a minute, the Mini 2 removes a whole piece of kit from your bag.

The other upgrade is Wi-Fi 6, replacing the Wi-Fi 5 router on the first model, with coverage of up to 1,800 square feet.

Remember too that either dish needs a plan to work. Starlink plans start at $55 a month, though prices can vary by region. Starlink also offers a 30-day return window if the service doesn’t suit you, which takes some of the risk out of trying it.