Not sure what it's like elsewhere, but in Canada the component upgrade pricing is 20% higher. This price reduction is really only on the entry level models as any RAM or SSD upgrades are more expensive now.
This is the second component price increase in as many generations. Apple increased component pricing 25% from M2 > M3, and now again from M3 > M4.
At the end of the day, this is smoke and mirrors to advertise a lower entry-level price. I will admit, though, if you don't need more than 16/256 the price is "okay." There are Windows machines with equal build quality and better specs (outside of the SOC's performance-per-watt) for the same or lower price.