Why is Samsung raising prices on older phone models? "Higher component costs due to strong dollar"

According to The Financial News, Samsung Electronics has decided to raise the factory prices of some high-capacity smartphone models as key component costs climb amid global chipset price hikes and exchange rate volatility. Normally, prices of older models fall when new ones are released, but rising production costs now appear to be feeding through to higher prices.
Industry sources said on the 1st that Samsung Electronics will increase prices for high-capacity versions of its foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Flip7 and Galaxy Z Fold7, as well as the ultra-slim Galaxy S25 Edge, starting today.
For the Galaxy Z Flip7 and Galaxy Z Fold7, which were launched in July last year, the 512GB models will each go up by 94,600 won, from 1,643,400 won to 1,738,000 won. The Galaxy Z Fold7 1TB model will rise by 193,600 won, from 2,933,700 won to 3,127,300 won.
The 512GB model of the Galaxy S25 Edge, which hit the market in May last year, will also increase by 110,000 won, from 1,639,000 won to 1,749,000 won.
Samsung Electronics had been cautious about raising product prices, but it is now seen as unable to absorb the impact of a stronger won-dollar exchange rate driven by rapidly changing global conditions such as the Middle East crisis, along with simultaneous increases in prices of key components like memory semiconductors. Rival Apple has frequently raised domestic prices of older models, citing exchange rate fluctuations.
However, taking consumer burden into account, Samsung Electronics appears to have excluded the more popular 256GB models from the price hikes and focused adjustments on the 512GB and 1TB high-capacity versions, where production costs are relatively higher.
The company has reportedly not considered price increases for the Galaxy S26 series, which was released last month, given that it is still in the early stage of its launch.
A Samsung Electronics official stated, "As prices of key components have continued to rise, we inevitably raised prices on some products."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter