I ran into something similar recently but on the cheaper side of the spectrum. 2 years ago I bought a budget Samsung tablet (Tab A, 8") to my older kid as a Xmas gift. Think it was around $120. Last Xmas I wanted to buy another one for my younger child, and wanted to get something similar but a slightly refreshed version. To my surprise, the same tablet was still being sold but now the price was $180. I even checked today, and still the same spec and price.
I guess the product cycle is surprisingly long for tablets. It is still being marketed on Samsung's website with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Android 5.0 was released in 2014 and is not even supported with security patches any longer. Of course, one can easily update to a later version (latest version that can be downloaded for this tablet is 7.1), but it kind of shows the age of the technology. This would be similar to walking into a computer store today and only find computers with Windows 8.
With that said, I have no problem buying older tech as long as it is fit for purpose and using older software have fewer bugs, but I just struggle justifying paying a higher price today for several year old design - unless of course it has been modded with"gold connections, WBT charging jack and Cryo treated board".
