WordPress still powers a large share of the web, and hosting built specifically around it — automatic core updates, built-in staging, WordPress-aware caching — has kept expanding as a category distinct from generic shared hosting. That's part of why you're seeing more hosts split their lineup into "regular" shared plans and separate WordPress-specific tiers, sometimes at a premium.
What this means for you: if your site is WordPress and you're currently on a generic shared plan, it's worth checking whether your host's WordPress-specific tier is actually a meaningful upgrade or just a marketing label — see our best WordPress hosting comparison for the difference in practice.