Duolingo, best known for its language learning app, has teamed up with instrument brand Loog to offer a beginner-friendly portable piano. The $249 Loog x Duolingo Piano is designed to complement Duolingo's similarly playful music course, which launched last year.
The keyboard is essentially a co-branded version of the portable digital piano Loog unveiled on Kickstarter last year. It has a nearly identical wooden design, 37 keys, and a volume knob. There are a few other visual differences besides the green color. The button on Duolingo's version has a lighter wood finish, and it comes with a matching phone stand so you can, for example, follow the company's music lessons while you play.
The most notable feature that both models have in common is the velocity-sensitive keys, which allow for dynamics, meaning the volume is adjusted depending on how hard or softly the keys are pressed.
The Loog x Duolingo Piano is 480.8mm long and weighs 1.65kg. It has built-in stereo speakers and a rechargeable battery that lasts up to eight hours on a full charge. The back of the device also has ports for octave shifters and sustain pedals, a USB-C jack for charging and MIDI transfer, and a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can practice without disturbing everyone else in the house.
Duolingo’s music course currently only offers piano lessons and works with any Piano – not just the new Loog collaboration. The Loog x Duolingo Piano does come with beginner-friendly flashcards, though, and the dynamics are nice on a piano that's small enough to stash in a drawer when not in use. Note, though, that this is a pre-order only and won't ship until November.