Dec 23, 2013 10:31 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Apple CEO Tim Cook has reportedly told his company to expect "big plans" in 2014, a year many experts say is his year to deliver in the post-Steve-Jobs era.

According to 9to5Mac, unnamed sources said an end-of-year memo from Cook to employees praising the new products released in 2013 and how many customers experienced Apple for the first time.

"This holiday season, tens of millions of people around the world, from all walks of life, are experiencing Apple products for the first time. Those moments of surprise and delight are magical, and they're all made possible by your hard work," Cook's email reads, according to 9to5Mac's sources. "We extended our lead in the smartphone market with iPhone 5s; launched iOS 7, an extraordinarily ambitious project; released OS X Mavericks for free to our customers; introduced the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display; and this week began shipping the Mac Pro from a manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas."

Cook was also proud that Apple raised and donated "tens of millions of dollars" to aid victims of the typhoon in the Philippines. Apple also reached 50-billion app store downloads, a feat the company took five years to accomplish.

A break from taking pride in the past year, Cook hinted that Apple will be releasing exciting new products in 2014.

"We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love," Cook wrote.

9to5Mac's sources previously said the company is including fitness and sensor experts to help design the supposed iWatch. This would suggest the wearable device will be tailored for fitness purposes and have a sensory system that may be able to read a person's heart rate and so on. Apple is also reportedly working on upgrades to the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro, which could include higher resolutions, bigger screens and more capabilities.

According to USA Today, Josh Stewart, portfolio manager at the Wasatch World Innovators Fund, said 2014 will be very important for Cook. Jobs was seen as a creative genius and Cook is viewed in the industry as a task manager. Now that more than two years have passed since Jobs' death, 2014 is likely the year where Cook has to prove he can move the company forward like Jobs.

"2014 will be hard," Stewart told USA Today. "Unless they come up with something we haven't thought of yet it will be hard to drive double-digit sales growth from here."

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit