In a rather rare type of statements, Apple commented on the rumours that had been floating around the Web claiming that the company was about to update its desktop iMac and Mac mini personal computers. Apparently, the firm has no intentions to improve its products ahead of holiday selling season.

“Our holiday line-up is set,” Apple spokesman Bill Evans told Macworld web-site.

The rumours about possible upgrades of desktop lineup which consists of iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro started to show up when it became clear that Apple was about to roll-out improved versions of mobile computers, which it did several weeks ago.

It was projected that the desktop systems would receive performance bumps thanks to newer microprocessors and core-logic sets, but Apple decided not to upgrade its systems ahead of holiday shopping season. As a consequence of this choice, Apple’s desktop computers now offer lower performance compared to competing offerings that are based on the more advanced Intel Core 2 Duo microprocessors.

Nevertheless, the decision not to update certain systems may be logical: the Mac Pro features two quad-core Intel Xeon chips powered by Core 2 micro-architecture, whereas Intel’s Xeon processors based on Nehalem/Core i7 micro-architecture are not here yet. In addition, since Intel will inevitably cut prices on current-generation microprocessors in the next few months, Apple might have decided to wait a little before setting exact specifications for systems like iMac or Mac Mini as they will have to exist on the market for quite some time before Apple transits its desktops to Intel’s latest Nehalem micro-architecture and Core i7 processors.

Tags: Apple, iMac, Macintosh, Mac, Intel, Core, Core i7, Nehalem