- A leaker has published details of the upcoming Starlink Mini 2
- The satellite dish may have a built-in battery to eliminate cable clutter.
- But it could come at the cost of slower internet speeds.
Starlink Mini is a small-scale satellite dish that lets you connect to the Internet during your travels, but at over two years old, it might be time for some upgrades. That appears to be exactly what is happening according to a new leak, which has revealed a number of key specifications about the upcoming Starlink Mini 2.
As electronic engineer Oleg Kutkov posted on X, the Starlink Mini 2 has entered production and will come with some significant changes compared to its predecessor. That could make for a potentially very different experience if you’re used to what the original Starlink Mini offers.
According to Kutkov, the Starlink Mini 2 will be slightly smaller in size, with measurements dropping from 236 x 276mm to 225 x 273mm. If that’s right, it will help make it more portable when you’re on the move, even if just a little.
But the big change comes to the duty cycle, which governs how often the device’s signal is in operation. Kutkov says this cycle is dropping from the Starlink Mini’s 75% to just 11%, which could “result in lower uplink speeds,” the leaker believes. “This limitation is probably due to the terminal’s power budget,” they added.
Speaking of which, an image posted by Kutkov claimed that the Starlink Mini 2 will come with a built-in battery. The original Mini uses an external battery, but by incorporating it into the body of the Mini 2, Starlink will be able to reduce the clutter associated with its new satellite dish and allow you to use it without power banks or cables attached.
What it means to you
The “lower uplink speeds” cited by Kutkov will likely be disappointing news for Starlink users thinking about upgrading to the Mini 2, especially if they need higher internet speeds for home or business use. What those new speeds might actually be is a mystery at the moment.
The switch to a built-in battery is also worth noting, and could be particularly useful if fiddling with battery cables would be difficult for your setup. When you’re out in the wild struggling to get a wireless signal, the last thing you need to worry about is keeping a battery connected to your satellite dish.
The direct link between the built-in battery and reduced duty cycle, as noted by Kutkov, is interesting because it implies that Starlink felt that getting a wire-free experience was preferable to faster internet speeds. We will have to see how users respond to that decision.
Right now, there is no price or release date for the Mini 2, either officially from Starlink or unofficially through Kutkov leaks. But Kutkov’s claim that the device is “finally entering production” suggests we may not be too far from an announcement.
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