I think there is a fairly good chance of Sony doing something like this eventually but not any time soon.  When Sony released PS Move, it was at a time that both Nintendo was doing amazingly well and PS3 was doing poorly.  They felt they needed to do what Nintendo was doing.  

So, wait a few years, or even a whole generation.  If PS5 has a noticeable dip in profitability compared to PS4 (which I think it will), then they are going to start making plans for their own hybrid system.  If PS5 is doing as well as PS4 or better, then it probably will just keep doing what it is doing now.

I agree with the wiseman cough cough, my thought is instead of a hybrid PS. Sony will look at using streaming to various devices to try to replicate some of the advantages of being a hybrid without having to build one along with the expectation that the continued expansion of cloud infrastructure will help close the Switches portability advantage.

So in short a narrower focused version of Microsoft's aim to stream its content everywhere.

Sony has to bank everything on PS5 after all.. 125 mill is not that safe this time.. more important to focus all power on dedicated homeconsole, than try to tap into hybrid.
With Gamepass and cloud streaming from some of the biggest companys in the world changing how casual gamers play games the cumming years. Sony will have to push PS5 rather than play on 2 horses, imo

Edit: They could offcourse go the Nintendo way.. Bank on a cheaper hybrid with ps4 power (ps now and AAA cloud games) and let the big guys play it out.. but there is alot of Nintendo.. In the Nintendo way.

I don't think they will do it, their games are not for the same customers as Nintendo.

Not to say Switch is a console for kids, as I own it and they're things for all kinds of players, but you can buy one for kids with Mario games for example. Even buy multiple systems with the standard system for home and lite for kids. As a Sony centered player, i bought a switch to my kid and won't let him play otherly than occasionaly on playstation before a few years.

Well, they actually did it. But they did it the worst possible way.

The PSTV is basically a docked version of the Vita, and instead of releasing a dock for the Vita, they put a vita without the screen in it. And can play PS Vita games (the ones which doesn't use gyroscope or touch screen - for most part), PSP games and PS1 games.

And you could actually access the PS Now with it. That's how I discovered Uncharted back in 2015

(yeah I bought a Wii Mini cause I liked to have weird consoles nobody wanted)

I would love one. SEGA did it in 1995 with Nomad. Sony sorta tried with PSP and further the idea with Vita TV + Vita. Sony would probably use a Samsung chip that is well above Switch. It can happen but no chance of it happening. If by some miracle Sony did. I'd want it cartridge-based and use standard micro SD cards. Sony always got storage expansion right on consoles but always wrong on handhelds. Nintendo is the total reverse.

I have a PSTV and I like it but it's def a half-baked idea since so many games do not work on it and it does not upscale well.

If Sony manages to reduce the power consumption from 120-150 watts (PS4 according to sources) down to 15-20 watts by having the same rendering quality of a PS4, then sure. It's possible.

Sony's software doesn't really lend itself to the hybrid playstyle. I just don't see it happening, even if it is technically possible.

I would rephrase it to "Is a hybrid Playstation 4 possible?".

This is essentially the only viable portable direction for Sony because it wouldn't require additional development resources from anyone and the system will just inherit all of the PS4's software and receive all incoming ps4. Titles like COD/Fifa/NBA and all the AA/indie games might carry it more than Sony a lot of Sonys traditional exclusives like TLOU2 which I think deserve a home cinema style experience. Although I think some RPGs will be great on the go FFVIIR/Persona etc. I think such a device could have decent potential because its supplementary and attract continued support of PS4.

How they'd go about it is interesting. The PS4 definitely has room for a further die shrink, but it seems that Series S/PS5 type emulation is more realistic in terms of delivery a quality experience with good battery life/size etc. This would probably mean waiting a year or 2 and using one of AMDs new mobile chips. I think its something Sony are definitely pondering right now.

-hybrid function with full PS4 digital compatibility, probably valued most in Japan but could be a decent minority of players who value in the west.
-Portable PS5 streaming at home ala Wii U
-Playstation streaming box in general
-Generic Tablet functionality (Netflix, Browser, Spotify etc).

A more risk adverse iteration of this could be a Playstation 4 mini, A SKU that doesn't have the expensive hallmarks of a portable (screen etc) but is small enough to fit in a backpack, can be powered via battery and can wirelessly stream video to any device within range. This is the kind of experiment they'd do to test the waters without any fanfare, maybe even only release it in some markets (like Japan)

Like Peh said, it's not technically possible. Sure, with today's tech Sony could release a portable machine with as much power as the PS4. But it will not be compatible with PS4 games --> this is the problem: you will have to do specific development for each game to make them compatible. PS4 is X86 AMD architecture, this is not a mobile architecture. So they can't do it and will not do it.