Google could have taken the same approach as Microsoft always did since the MS-DOS days and require specific hardware expectations.
Android solved a very different problem than iOS. It has compromises and benefits (that iOS has enjoyed by proxy) in doing so. The OS that we know today is the combined knowledge of many OEM customizations. The hardware of a vicious battle between many vendors. The screens and designs the result of an endless tug of war. And again, Apple has enjoyed the fruits of these.
But saying "If only they..." is seldom from a place of reason.
Apparently no one at Google ever read PC hardware specifications from Microsoft like "PC 97 Hardware Design Guide" or "Hardware Design Guide for Microsoft Windows 95", among a few other hardware guides from them.
https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Design-Guide-Microsoft-Profe...
https://www.amazon.com/Hardware-Design-Guide-Microsoft-Windo...
Of course the Windows Phone attempted at it failed, because by the time Microsoft tried to apply the same rules as they did on the PC hardware, OEMs already had the Android wild west to play with.
Microsoft hit update handling for Windows Mobile spot on. A 2014 Windows Phone today[1] is a safer bet if you value security than any Android on the market right now. May not run the apps you want, but it is going to have the latest security updates.
[1]My Lumia 929 currently is running Windows 14393.1593, released August 8th, 2017. I can safely expect to receive the next update on September 12th.
