OK, not necessarily (unless Apple decides to sell iFinger Sharpeners, in which case, yes, necessarily). There are UI elements on the iPhone that are physically smaller than their counterparts on the iPad and people seem to manage. It's possible that Apple's tested this out and thought "meh, it's good enough."

But there's a bigger reason to question this petite rumor.

Remember netbooks?

LOL.

Anyway, the theory at the time--which was popular with pundits, mind you--was that because netbooks were popular, Apple would have to ship a netbook or immediately go out of business. QED. The Macalope is paraphrasing here, but not by much.