Roland’s new digital piano is perfect for learners — it comes with Wi-Fi and connects to a beginner-friendly app to make things easy for music beginners

Roland has a new digital piano that has built-in Wi-Fi integration It's also launching a new music-learning app, Piano Sphere, with teaching techniques and real-time feedback As well as Wi-Fi, the piano has an upgraded speaker system with more accurate responsiveness Music company Roland is taking a massive step with its latest project that’s pretty much unprecedented in the world of digital instruments — it's launching a portable piano with built-in Wi-Fi support.

The $750 (roughly £750/ AU$1,149) FP-40 digital piano was unveiled today (September 1), coming in two finishes (black or white) with Bluetooth Audio/ MIDI and USB-C connectivity.

Though this isn’t new for digital instruments — many leading piano manufacturers make the most of Bluetooth — Wi-Fi integration is unheard of.

While that’s essentially the selling point, the FP-40 packs a punch with additional features like Roland’s Piano Reality Sound Engine, a technology that augments the finer details and tone of an acoustic piano.

As for the keyboard, Roland uses weighted hammer-action keys, on top of the triple-sensor tech it uses to ensure faster responsiveness when playing notes.

Just like your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, the FP-40 piano connects to your home Wi-Fi like any other device, and it will receive regular software updates.

But there's a reason why Roland has designed the new sound tool this way — it’s to spotlight its new learning software.

Alongside the launch of its Wi-Fi-powered piano, Roland is launching Piano Sphere, an app developed by Skoove that offers teaching techniques to help you improve your musical craft, whether you’re a casual player or you’re picking up the reins again. (Image credit: Roland) Similar to learning apps like Duolingo, Piano Sphere is packed with ‘personalized guidance, real-time feedback, and a rich library of high-quality content to keep you playing’, as mentioned on the Roland site .

In addition to this, you’ll also be getting step-by-step lessons and even custom learning plans based on your current level.

The only thing is that you’ll need a phone or tablet to view a lot of the software’s insights, for example, tracking progress by viewing streaks and reward badges, but outside of that, the piano itself has some handy features.

The FP-40’s flagship Piano Sphere button lights up to give you feedback as you play away, and thanks to Wi-Fi connectivity, the piano automatically records playing history even when the Piano Sphere app isn’t open.

On top of that, you won’t need to pay extra for a Piano Sphere subscription.

From the get-go, you’ll have basic access to 100 copyright-free songs spanning everything from classical compositions to pop music bangers.