I've yet to figure this one out.
Dryers used to be way cheaper, now all of a sudden they're almost as much, equal to or more than the washer and like you said, a dryer is so way more simpler.
I think that's why they added more junk (like steam or multiple sensors) to jack up the asking price.

I wondered the same thing when we bought our washer and dryer in April. The dryer (non steam, just a regular old sensor dryer) was as much as the washer. And the washer has way more parts and features (steam, direct drive, etc).

I've heard pricing explained such that washers are somewhat underpriced against manufacturing cost, or maybe it's that they have less of a margin, and dryers make up for the difference being that majority of consumers buy a matching set nowadays.

Because it can be. Duh! LOL! While people persist in buying matching "sets", the opportunity for additional profit will always be there in overpricing a dryer. If you gave up the ridiculous notion of "matching" and just bought the least expensive dryer that had the capacity that you needed, the manufacturers might stop the price gouging.