The company's two decisions — reducing the cost of manufacturing and stopping software updates for older tablets — affect both the company and the customers in ethical, environmental and commercial ways.

Ethically, reducing manufacturing cost raises the question of whether the saving will be passed on to customers or kept by the company; if prices stay the same it is unfair on customers. Customers may also not be told that updates have been stopped — this effectively deceives them into thinking their tablet is still supported. The decision is ethical to the company because it improves profitability and allows staff to be paid more, but it is unethical to the customer because it forces them to replace a working device. A lower cost device might at least allow more people to afford a tablet, which is a positive ethical effect on customers who previously could not buy one.

Environmentally, the most serious impact is an increase in e-waste. Customers replacing their tablets more often means more devices being thrown away, often in landfill, and tablets contain precious metals and toxic components that can leak into the ground. Cheaper manufacturing may also produce less durable products that fail sooner, further increasing waste. On the positive side, older devices could be redistributed to people without devices to reduce waste, and products could be recycled for components — if the company actually puts a recycling scheme in place.

Benefits and drawbacks are split clearly between the two parties. For the company, benefits include increased sales (as customers must replace devices more often) and increased profit; drawbacks include a potential decrease in reputation and a long-term loss of customers who move to competitors that offer longer support. For the customers, the benefit is that the initial cost may be lower so a tablet becomes affordable for the first time; the drawbacks are an increase in cost over time (replacing tablets more often), less reliable devices, and the time and effort needed to install and set up new devices regularly.

Conclusion. The decisions favour the company in the short term but damage both the customer and the environment. I would recommend the company reduces manufacturing cost only where it does not reduce reliability, continues to release essential security updates for older tablets, and introduces a take-back/recycling scheme. This balances profit with ethical treatment of customers and a smaller environmental footprint.