I dunno, my wife just got a new M1 MacBook Air that cost less and performs better than the Dell laptops her employer is buying for people who prefer Windows machines.
Sure, you can pay a fortune for windows machines if you want to. The entry level is much lower though.
You can pay $500 for a Windows toy you'll throw away in a year, or $250 for a Chromebook, or you can pay $899 for the M1 MacBook Air and enjoy much better performance than the $899 Windows laptops.
I realize you're anti-Apple but clearly you don't know anything about their products. But that doesn't stop you from making ridiculous statements about them!
It's not deification.
It sort of is.
Question: If you were looking for a "better" meter than the Fluke 87V then what meter would you get?
(nb. A meter that you would actually want to own. The Fluke 289 doesn't count - who wants to own a complex meter that takes ages to "boot up"?)
I told you in my post. I have a Fluke 179. Is it "better" than the 87? As my sophomore professor of physics would say, "DON'T KNOW! DON'T CARE!" The 179 meets my needs, and has done so for a long time.
On the bench at work I have a Fluke 175. It was bought prior to my arrival. It does what I need it to do.
The production people have a calibrated 6 1/2 voltmeter for some particular use. It was bought for that use. Someone researched it and bought it.
But here's the thing, Fungus: You're (apparently) an engineer. Wouldn't you LOVE to be able to design a product like the 87, one that sells like hotcakes even though it is "expensive" and as such makes boatloads of money for your employer?
If I had shares in the company, then sure. In practice: Did the designers even get a raise? Pride alone won't get me a new car.
Who knows? Maybe they did. Maybe they're now the managers.
As an "engineer" I might be annoyed if my boss told me I wasn't allowed to try and improve it for the next generation or even try to design another model that was even better.
Do you tell your boss what products the company should be designing or putting into production, or does your boss tell you what to design and put into production? This is why I think you're a hobbyist.
What if Fluke has already asked their customers what they like and don't like about the 87 and the consensus was "it's fine as it is?" What if instead of changing the 87 they put whatever features customers suggested into new products? You know, like logging in the 287, or the detachable face in the 233 or whatever?
Maybe the Fluke measurement-tools division has decided that its engineers are better utilized designing products in new areas? Again, the Fluke product line is more than just handheld meters.