Not even in the same league. It's like recommending a VW Beetle to someone who wants to race in Formula 1. Assuming the Apple displays performs according to specs, except for resolution, it's nowhere near the new XDR. It's not even close. That doesn't mean the Dell isn't a good monitor for hobbyists, youtubers, etc. The XDR is aimed at reference professionals, those that currently pay over $30k for a monitor with worse specs than the XDR (again, if it delivers). People have to understand, if you're not a mastering facility, broadcast studio, etc. working on multi million dollar productions year after year, the XDR is not aimed at you. You're better off with some LG, Dell, etc. because you don't need the level of performance (accuracy).
So we agree that Apple does not exist in a vacuum. If anything, this should cause pro users to start questioning whether those $30,000 monitor manufacturers were price gouging.
Let's also remember that the same thing has happened with Apple several times before:
First 22 inch Cinema Display had a revolutionary low price at the time it was introduced.
First quad core Power Mac G5 cost much less than same spec PC workstations at the time.
First Retina MacBook Pro with PCIe storage cost much less than same spec Lenovo laptops at the time.
But 1-2 years after each of those products were introduced, the other manufacturers caught up and started making comparable products with lower prices. Just as with those previous products, the same will happen with Apple's new monitor. And eventually, we will start to see comparable monitors from other manufacturers for lower prices. This is how the tech market works. Crying foul on other manufacturers for undercutting Apple is pointless. Apple can either:
1. Spend the next 6 years with no updated models, while keeping prices the same as day 1.
2. Spend the next 6 years with no updated models, but dropping the price over time.
3. Provide updates while keeping prices the same.
4. Provide updates along with price drops.
5. Provide updates and higher prices.
Now if you choose to be an early adopter and understand that prices will eventually come down, that's your choice. But to expect every other manufacturer to sit and do nothing is absolutely foolish.
Even if you are not a pro user, you should be concerned if you are a consumer of the work that these pro users create, as the costs may be passed onto you. It would be interesting to do a financial audit of every vendor that is involved in a video project, to see how much of the cost of extravagant spending by each vendor is being passed onto the client, who in turn passes the cost onto the end consumer in the form of higher prices. Similar examples include:
1. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson and his extravagant office furniture expenses, as cuts were being planned for programs helping the homeless, elderly and poor.
2. CEO of the NRA billing their ad agency over $274,000 for personal clothing purchases, ultimately billed back to the NRA, paid for by membership fees.