First and foremost you have to understand the differences between a keyboard and a piano. The most significant difference to me is the key touch (the way how the key feels when it is pressed). Piano keys are usually a solid block as compared to keyboard keys which is pretty "hollow". I suggest you go to a music store and try out both keyboard and piano to get what I'm trying to say.

Do note that not all keyboards are 61 keys. There are 41 keys, 88 keys etc.

You should be able to play quite a number of songs, provided they don't require a full 88 key length (most songs don't btw). But if you are to transition from playing keyboard to piano, you will need some time to get used to your new instrument. I'm not saying that you must get a piano to start playing, but if you are looking for long term, a piano would be better. However, many players do start by practicing on a keyboard first, then when they feel they are more competent and wants to get serious in playing, only they'll buy a piano.

Ahh another interesting topic to discuss about. Well, digital piano may not sound or feel 100% like an acoustic piano but they're much more versatile compared to acoustic piano. But my biggest concern with digital piano is that they tend to get outdated in a few years time and electronic parts are more likely to break down as time goes by

5 years is relatively new compared to acoustic piano which people usually play and keep for at least 10-20 years. I've worked in a music shop before and seen their showroom units having problems with the sensor under the keys when barely even 2 years old. Those sensors typically spoil due to wear and tear and can also develop problems if dust particles gets under the keys.

And yes, hardwares dont normally get outdated as most brand will retain most of their hardware from the previous gen. But one thing i noticed is older models typically hangs or freezes after certain capacity threshold is reached. And the OS and CPU requirements will increase as they add more features into the piano. That's where some kiasu ppl will wanna have the latest tech (like the advancement of phone tech) to keep up. But that generally doesn't happen cos piano are expensive instruments haha. The only thing manufacturers keep adding to the piano is the number of sound banks which may not be so useful for beginners as they don't really meddle around with other instrument banks.

And yeah i agree with you that music doesn't get outdated. The only way music is changing is through the style of music as time goes by.

I assume you're talking about polyphony rite. Yeah, 128 key polyphony would be the best if possible

Disagree totally with u.Using android as comparison, RM500 phones 4-5 years ago only comes with 512 Mb RAM when RM 500 phone now comes with 2Gb RAM. Also not mentioning the CPU and android version.

And RM500 phones can never compete with high end phone. Just by CPU, GPU and RAM alone, shows the difference. Doesn't mean they can surf FB with both phones that they can compete with each other head to head. That's like you saying an i3 processor can compete with i7 just because they can do the same task.

Pls quote me which model of RM500 cheap phone that can compete with high end models with the same performance cos I also wanna buy.

PS: Coming from a user who uses both flagship models and cheaper alternatives at the same time