Here are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Apple Is King of Chips: A report from IHS iSuppli indicates that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains the largest single purchaser of computer chips and will increase its lead over competitors in 2012, Apple Insider notes. Apple is predicted to spend $28 billion to purchase chips for its devices this year. By contrast, Samsung, its nearest rival, will spend just $14.9 billion on chips this year. Spending on chips will fall at a number of other computer equipment makers, including Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO). IHS says that Apple is engaging in “dominance of the electronics supply chain” through close relationships with more than 150 component suppliers.

Facebook Preparing to Go Mobile: Social media giant Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is working with HTC to develop its own-branded smartphone, according to Bloomberg. The Facebook smartphone could debut by the end of this year. Facebook is hoping that the phone will give it a slice of lucrative mobile advertising fees. The company generated $3.15 billion in ad revenue last year, but none of that was from smartphone-based ads. A Facebook-branded phone would provide a platform to attract new advertisers. Facebook is also working on a new, faster iPhone app, but is still months away from releasing it.

Windows 8 Not Good for PC Market: Valve co-founder and Managing Director, Gabe Newell, told listeners at the Casual Connect conference that he thinks Microsoft’s newest operating system will be a “disaster” for the PC market, according to AllThingsD. Redmond plans to launch Windows 8 this fall. Newell predicts that the new operating system will drive some third party PC makers out of the PC market altogether as their margins collapse. Valve is considering adapting its digital storefront to Linux as a way to defend against Windows 8 fallout.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.