Why have prices gone up so much this year?

The bad news: The Galaxy S23 recently announced by Samsung is on the market for more than the S22 range released last year. An upgrade that potential buyers won’t like, but why is Samsung reviewing its claims to the top and is it the only manufacturer to do it?

We’ve been talking about it for months and now it’s over. Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 range is officially launched. If the three smartphones don’t offer a “big revolution”, they have serious advantages: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for everyone (bye Exynos!), batteries ranging from 3900 to 5000 mAh depending on the model , and a 200 Mpx sensor for the S23 Ultra. However, there is a disturbing subject: the price of all three models has increased by at least a hundred euros compared to last year.

But what justifies such a price difference in just one year? Is the increase similar across the Atlantic? Is Samsung the only other smartphone maker to jump on the trend? Let’s try to answer all these questions and see a little more clearly.

Samsung Increases the Price of its New Galaxy S23, Really?

First of all, here’s a small summary of the price difference of the S23 compared to the S22. It should be noted that these prices correspond to those shown on the various model releases:

First observation: between last year’s practiced price and this year’s price, we are therefore clear upgrades from 100 to 180 € depending on the selected model. Second observation: if the “base” model stays well below the 1000 euro mark, it’s getting closer.

So why such an increase? We publicly posed a question to Samsung, which didn’t want to expand on the subject, but cryptically explained to us that its faults were mainly inflation. We know the price of components, such as shipping and storage, has exploded since the Covid outbreak. Samsung isn’t the first to complain about it or the last. In addition, the situation has worsened since the War in Ukraine.

To this it must be added that the euro is not looking good against the dollar. If the euro/dollar ratio was 0.86 in October 2021, it will be 1.02 at the same time in 2022. Admittedly, European currencies have taken on some color since then, but keep in mind that the price of the S23 in Europe is set a few month. ago.

And on the other manufacturer’s side, how’s it going?

In such a context, we may be able to understand that the manufacturer has no choice but to increase the prices of its smartphones. Admittedly, almost all smartphone manufacturers have revised their price increases over the past two years. Even Xiaomi, if the latest Xiaomi 13 price leaks are to be believed, has already raised its price. Therefore, you will have to pay between 100 and 200 euros more compared to last year for the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro.

At first, some manufacturers managed not to increase prices, but were still forced to revise their copies the following year. While the iPhone 12 equipped with 128GB cost €959 when released in 2020, the iPhone 13 (still within 128GB) is shown at €909 in 2021. Bravo, Apple! But in 2023, it’s a cold shower: iPhone 14 goes to €1,019, an increase of €110 from model to model… And in the end, for very few new features.

Without playing devil’s advocate, it’s clear that Samsung must exercise the same limits as its competitors and must follow the same financial logic. Nothing escaped, not even Sony and its PS5, which recently increased in price by 50 euros. In 2023, the new range of Galaxy S23 therefore pays a high price. It remains to be seen whether Samsung’s new generation of smartphones is actually worth it, or whether, like the iPhone 14, the changes are so minor that they don’t require any purchase. Response in our various tests in the coming weeks, for sure.