I own the Hakko FX-888D, FX-951, FX-100, Metcal, and a JBC stations. So I may have a perspective from both the NEW and OLD soldering stations.
Really what you could use all of them for most electronics needs. But what sets apart these stations are its ergonomics, heat up time, , tip prices, and ease of tip changing.
The FX-888D and Metcal have horrible ergonomics while the FX-951 and JBC is the middle of the road. The ergonomics of the FX-100 is the best compared to them all. But thermal performance wise, the FX-888D lags behind a lot (30 second heatup time and slow recovery). The FX-951 is good but takes a while to heat up compared to other stations (10-15 second depending on tip). The FX-100, Metcal, and JBC are similar in performance. Use the JBC if access to temperature is a must or FX-100/Metcal if it isn't too important. The temperature really doesn't matter in the end as long as the solder melts. The most important thing in soldering is dwell time on the components.
For tip pricing, JBC is the worst while the Hakko FX-888D is the cheapest (closely followed by the FX-951). For changing tips, the FX-951 is by far the fastest, easiest, and safest. Nothing else comes close...
I can go on on about other features such as UI, sleep, and build quality if others want me too. But here's just my 2 cents for now.