And that doesn't clue you in on why Fluke doesn't do major changes to their existing models, and instead releases completely new models?
I'm not asking for major changes to anything, I'd be quite happy with a completely new model. Right now they're not doing either.
Where's Fluke's technological tour-de-force?
Well, more precisely, they're not doing a meter that targets the market you're in. Based on what you've said here in this thread, what you seem to be looking for is a handheld meter with bench capabilities that sips batteries and doesn't cost what a top-tier bench meter would cost.
That, it seems, is what you mean by a "technological tour-de-force". Of course, if you mean something else, then you should describe exactly what you mean.
Whatever they produce as a "technological tour-de-force" would quickly be obsoleted due to technological progress. Which is to say, the "technological tour-de-force" you pine for wouldn't remain one for long (certainly not for the amount of time most of their meters remain in production), unless it were truly exceptional in some way that is very difficult to replicate (such as precision, which requires temperature stability), which would make it too expensive to sell into the market you're in, which means it wouldn't be worth producing for that purpose.
The problem here is that "exceptional in a difficult to replicate way" almost automatically means "expensive". The sole exception is a truly novel breakthrough that they could patent, one which would give the meter some capability that nothing else has. But expecting
that is quite obviously unreasonable. Breakthroughs like that don't happen on demand, and in any case the very first product such a thing would likely be put into would likely be a top-tier meter, i.e. something near the top of the price range.
And in any case, bench meter capabilities will always command
a minimum of a bench meter price. How can it be otherwise? A bench meter doesn't have some of the constraints that a handheld does (like power draw), so to put bench meter capabilities into a handheld will require a compromise. And if you're not going to compromise on the capabilities, then you're going to have to compromise on the price (i.e., pay more).
So no matter how you slice it, what it seems you're really asking for here isn't something that Fluke will deliver. Why should they? They don't play in the "latest technology" product market, at least for handhelds. I don't know that they ever have, really. They build durable, functional meters for the long run, ones that can be depended on for decades. That's what they've built their reputation on. Why would they want to change that to satisfy what is likely a tiny market (a handheld with bench meter capabilities that would wind up commanding a minimum of a bench meter price and thus not sell very well)?
But if it's really a bench meter you want, then Fluke has you covered with the 8845A or 8808A. What's wrong with those?