(Credit: Starlink.com)
SpaceX has revealed, through a company email invite, that its newest Starlink dish will cost $599.
A Starlink subscriber posted a screenshot of the email on Reddit. The $599 price means the new dish will cost the same as the current Starlink hardware kit, which includes the second-generation dish and a Gen 2 Wi-Fi router.
So consumers hoping for a cost decrease will be disappointed. But on the plus side, the product, which the company has dubbed the new “standard” model, is not getting a price hike. SpaceX plans on first selling it to select users in the US via an invitation system before a wider release.
(Credit: Reddit user Reddit-cha)The other positive is that the new dish also includes the Gen 3 Wi-Fi 6 router. SpaceX is already selling the Wi-Fi 6 router to select customers as a standalone product for $199 before a full release in January.
The invite to buy the new dish goes on to say: “The next generation Starlink is slimmer and more portable, with a more elegant design than its predecessor. This Starlink Kit also includes our Gen 3 router with improved range and speeds.”
However, the invite doesn't say if the dish offers any speed improvements over the older Starlink residential dish models. As a result, existing subscribers who already paid to own the older hardware are not convinced the new Starlink dish will be worth buying.
“Really don't see the need to upgrade for the vast majority of people,” wrote one user on Reddit. “I know there is some chatter about RV use. But realize this new dish is much bigger. Over 3" wider. Making it even harder to store and move.” (Indeed, the Reddit user who received the invite email told PCMag they weren't planning on buying it.)
The new dish also drops a self-rotating motor. Instead, it’s designed to lay flat against its built-in kickstand or a pole mount. Other changes include better waterproofing, along with a higher power consumption.
Although the $599 price tag for the new dish remains relatively high, SpaceX is also preparing to sell a smaller, more portable Starlink dish that’s supposed to be about the size of a MacBook. In September, the company received FCC clearance to sell the smaller dish. But so far, SpaceX has yet to reveal any official information about the product.