It is a Hybrid.  You cannot compare it to a VITA simply using an HDMI cable, because it is not that simple.

When docked, the Switch behaves and functions differently.  The performance and resolution is enhanced and the clock speeds go up.  Furthermore the screen is no longer part of the equation as it is not functional while outputting docked performance.  The fans ramp up to support this shift in power as well.

Let us also not forget that certain games can ONLY be played docked, making them anything but a handheld game.  Super Mario Party and Ring Fit Adventure are examples of this.  While they are rare, they do exist.

In conclusion, the Switch is both a weaker console and a powerful handheld.  It has key handheld games that were designed for that function, like pokemon.  It also has core console games that are made for the TV, but with the option to be taken on the go such as Breath of the Wild, Outer Worlds, DOOM, and Witcher 3.

It is also worth noting that the Switch Lite is selling much less than the full Switch, which indicates that the console functions are much more desired than just having the handheld ones.  So while you tried to use the Lite to prove a point, it actually works against you when you dig just a little bit deeper.

Just my 2 cents.

If your car only wins, if you declare the subsubsubcategory of red cars with blue stripes and brown doorhandles, but never can be compared to red cars with yellow stripes (of which one incidentally is faster than your most beloved car), then be my guest to lie to yourself. I've been here on VGC since more than 10 years, people that felt the need to lie to themself to deny the reality existed always, you're nothing new.

So uh... is PlayStation TV also not a home console because it's mobile hardware...?

Ouya was a home console. Sheild is. Game Gear was a portable Master System. Turbo Express had the power of a TG16 in it. SEGA Nomad was the Switch concept in 1995. Super Game Boy exists. Game Boy Player as well. SEGA Master System is still sold in Brazil under Tec Toy. Power is not what determines a home console alone. If it dicks to the TV it counts.

Nintendo has shown again and again that they are nothing like Sega and that they will find a way to survive and flourish regardless of how the way people play games changes. The fact is that Nintendo is successful for one reason and that is their focus on gaming. Enough people are attracted to the innovative approach to fun that Nintendo makes its focus in gaming. The more that Nintendo's competitors focus on faster and more advanced hardware, the more of a demand their will be for a contrarian option that purely focuses on the fun-factor that games can offer.
Anybody who thinks that Sony and MS releasing faster hardware threatens Nintendo does not understand what made Nintendo successful in the first place.

Why does it's power output change when plugged to the dock? Why does power even matter? Why are most games on the console home console like games instead of handheld like games? Why does the regular switch sell more than the lite?

And your comment about DS and 3DS, it's destroying 3ds in sales right now and will cross DS sales in December. Of course it will most probably never sell 150mil consoles but that's the roof of gaming hardware right now. Just like PS4 won't sell more than PS2.

Switch is a much more home console experience in the go than a handheld experience at home because of the only thing that matters: the games. The major games other than pokemon are all home console experiences from smash to Mario maker to Splatoon 2 to breath of the wild. The switch lite is just an extension of bases Nintendo is covering just like the most probable more powerful switch next year or so. The power means nothing though.

PS3/360 power level >>>>>> Wii power level, Wii is a portable then 

Look here, buddy. I don't know how they do it where you come from but this here is a family site. We don't fancy that kind of potty talk around here!

Everyone is wondering how Switch will compete against a 12 Teraflop console.
I'm wondering how a 12 Teraflop console for $600 competes against a console that could see a $50 price drop and be $349 or $249 (for the Lite) with thousands of games available and an install size of 60 million units?

I think people weary of how Switch will fair after the release of the next gen are missing a few key things:

1. The transition to the 9th generation is likely to be very slow. It took years for most third parties to stop releasing their big games cross-generationally. The first *big* third party game to release exclusively on the 8th gen was Arkham Knight, in June of 2015, a year and-a-half into the new generation. In the context of this generation, that would be June 2022.

2. The fact that this gen will likely be backwards compatible with the 8th gen, will only encourage publishers to want to use the Xbox One/PS4 as the base console, with the more powerful consoles pursuing better frame rates and resolutions, like 120 FPS and native 8K, at least early on.

3. Software tools have increasingly focused on scaleability, and with the success of the Switch and the massive existing userbase for PS4/Xbox One, that will likely only encourage developers to further focus on that in the future. Scaleability is how ports of Doom, Wolfenstein, and many other high-end games made it to Switch.

And finally: The Switch will likely be receiving it’s own full-blown successor within the next few years, potentially as early as holiday 2021 (though somewhere in 2022 is more likely). Portable tech has already come a long way sense the Tegra X1, and a new model will do a lot to help the Switch catch up with the other 9th generation consoles. I would imagine a future Switch will be capable of PS4 (or at least Xbox One) levels of graphical fidelity.

Many developers will be eager to move on to the next generation, but I think most publishers will put a leash on that, especially given the development costs that come with increased graphical fidelity. Outside of the first party publishers, economics will almost certainly slow down the transition. If these consoles are expensive as rumored, that’ll slow adoption from consumers, and third parties aren’t going to be enthusiastic about moving away from a console install base that collectively surpasses 200 million, to cater exclusively to a userbase that’ll be a fraction the size for it’s first few years and way more expensive to develop for.