Apple wants you to buy Apple devices. It insists, mostly successfully, that computers, tablets, and phones are fully separate product categories with separate use cases and that "you should be able to use the right device for the moment." The company brags on its earnings calls that first-time iPhone buyers are more likely to pick up additional Apple devices in the future. It's selling a vision in which everything works best if you own an iPhone and an iPad and a Mac rather than mixing and matching.
If you subscribe to Apple's philosophy, iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite will reward your faith. While iOS and OS X have shared certain services and features since 2011 or so, this year's releases will take that interoperability to the next level under the "Continuity" banner.
Yes, for those of us who prefer to live in between ecosystems, Continuity takes today's vendor lock-in problems and makes them even worse. For the large number of people who own and use multiple Apple products, though, it promises to make your devices work together in ways beyond simple data synchronization.
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