Android’s rise to the top of the mobile operating system food chain as measured by device proliferation has been remarkably swift, but not without its drawbacks. Due to the nature of Google’s open source OS and its aggressive strategy, smartphone vendors that make use of the platform have each gone their own way with software development, hardware design and other key elements. As a result …

When Google first launched Android, the open-source operating system came with the promise that it could power almost any device. That's created a proverbial cornucopia of mobile devices that consumers have to choose from, but it's also led to the issue of fragmentation — there are so many devices running different versions of Android with different capabilities that can alter experience.

Google will give several device manufacturers early access to future releases of the Android operating system, a new report says. As part of the shift in strategy, the search giant will also begin selling some devices directly to consumers.