Microsoft is holding an event related to its Surface tablet line later this month, prompting speculation it will add a smaller-screened version to its portfolio.

According to The Next Web, the company has sent out invitations for an event in the US on 20 May, which it described as a “small gathering” – hence the speculation about a “mini” Surface.

But there have been reports that Microsoft is working on such a device for some time, although this has yet to come to fruition.

The launch is hardly surprising, in that Microsoft’s main rivals in the tablet platform space – Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android – are already used in devices with smaller screens.

While smaller devices lose some functionality, they gain in terms of portability.

It has also been reported that the device will run Windows RT 8.1 – an updated version of the much-maligned stripped-down OS targeting Windows tablets using ARM processors.

The platform has been criticised for its lack of apps, and lacks compatibility with software written for the full version of the Windows OS.

BGR previously suggested it will include support for pen input, making it a rival for Samsung’s Note tablet line – which are generally at the pricier end of the spectrum.

With it being only weeks since Microsoft acquired the Devices & Services business of Nokia, it is still too early to see how the computing giant’s hardware strategy may change, but it does now have two separate tablet lines under the Surface and Nokia brands.

Nokia announced its first Windows-powered tablet, 2520, late last year. Surface is in its second generation.