Roland’s new digital piano has built-in Wi-Fi that integrates with a teaching app
Roland has launched the FP-40, a digital piano with built-in Wi-Fi, a feature that is highly unusual for this type of instrument. While Bluetooth connectivity is fairly common in digital pianos for linking to teaching apps, Roland says Wi-Fi offers a faster, more seamless connection, and it enables the piano and its companion software to receive automatic updates over time.
The FP-40 pairs with a new teaching app called Piano Sphere, which provides guidance, real-time feedback and a library of songs and courses, controlled via a paired smartphone or tablet. The piano can also track playing history and prompt help when it detects a user struggling, even without a connected device. It uses Roland's Piano Reality Sound Engine, fully weighted hammer-action keys with triple sensors, and a new speaker system for richer low-register sound, plus a separate Bluetooth receiver for streaming external audio. It is available now in black or white for $750, considerably cheaper than Roland's flagship models.
- Roland's FP-40 digital piano features rare built-in Wi-Fi connectivity
- Pairs with new "Piano Sphere" app for lessons and feedback
- Costs $750, on sale now in black or white
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Digital pianos reproduce piano sounds electronically and can connect to phones or tablets for lessons and other features. Bluetooth is commonly used for these connections, while built-in Wi-Fi is less usual; it can also allow instruments and software to receive updates over the internet.
Roland is a Japanese musical instrument maker, and the FP-40 is part of its range of digital pianos. Its Piano Sphere app is designed to guide learners with lessons, songs and feedback, while the piano’s playing-history features can offer prompts without a phone or tablet connected.
Digital pianos vary in their key feel, sound and extra features, as well as price. The FP-40’s weighted keys are intended to feel more like an acoustic piano, and its position below Roland’s flagship models makes it an option for people weighing those features against cost.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of connected instruments argue that built-in Wi-Fi meaningfully improves the learning experience: faster, more reliable syncing than Bluetooth, seamless firmware and content updates, and the ability for the piano itself to notice when a student is struggling and offer help even without a paired device. For beginners in particular, real-time feedback and a structured course library can lower the barrier to entry and keep motivation high, and bundling this into a $750 instrument makes serious, well-built guided learning accessible to people who could never justify the cost of a flagship model or private lessons.
The case against
Sceptics of this trend argue that a musical instrument does not need to be a networked device, and that adding Wi-Fi introduces ongoing concerns – software updates that can change or degrade functionality over time, dependence on an app and company ecosystem that may not be supported indefinitely, and possible data collection about a person's practice habits – none of which a traditional piano ever required. They would contend that the fundamentals of piano quality (action, sound engine, build) should stand on their own, and that connectivity is best kept optional via Bluetooth or external devices rather than built into the instrument's core design, preserving simplicity, privacy and longevity for players who just want to play.