Apple Inc.'s devices outsold Microsoft's Windows PCs for the first time, worldwide.

Based on the fourth quarter result of 2013, market analyst Benedict Evans noted the "symbolic moment" of when "computers" sold by Apple was finally larger than the number of Windows PCs. Evans, however, noted the Apple "computers" included Macs, iPads, iPod touches, and iPhones.

According to Apple Insider, the sales volumes Evans noted were once considered "unthinkable" a few years ago. Annual PC shipments were more than 200 million units while Apple's Mac desktops and notebooks sold between one million and two million per year despite significant growth in the mid 2000s.

Evans acknowledged that mobile is the stage in the computing platform, which could explain why he combined iPhone and iPad sales with the Macs for his report.

"It's a pretty simply point: mobile is the next computing platform and it's a lot bigger than PCs in unit sales, so even the smaller player can overtake the total PC business," wrote Evans.

Evans' figures come seven years after Apple entered the mobile computing market with the iPhone. In 2007, Apple started sales of the iPhone, which was originally referred to as the "iPhone OS X" as it utilized the same core operating system as the Macintosh platform. Apple's mobile computing expansion would continue late in 2007 with the introduction of the iPod touch.

The iPhone has proved to be popular in the U.S. with The NPD Group, an information and advisory services group, noting the Apple smartphone represented 45 percent of the market share in 2013. Among Americans, the iPhone was popular regardless of the consumer's income while smartphone rivals such as Samsung benefited greatly from low-income buyers.

Apple's other mobile device, the iPad, was also the top gadget in the tablet field. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple shipped 26 million tablets during the fourth quarter of 2013, which is an increase from the 22.9 million units during the same quarter in 2012. As a result, Apple's market share was 33.8 percent. Samsung's presence in the tablet market was also noted with 14.5 million units shipped, which is an increase from the 7.8 million during 2012's fourth quarter.

Although Apple has the upper hand in sales against Samsung, could 2014 be the year the Tim Cook company outsells Microsoft?

Analysts await the next earnings report.

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