It's more about the promotion of it though. People aren't just going to  buy something because it can be played handheld, there still needs to be good performance. Also, if it cant do better than 30fps how are Sony going to convince people to buy it instead of Switch 2 or Steam deck/deck 2? You have to do something better than your competitors it's just economics. 

Power matters. Gaming is very technological. The thing is though, because the PS5 has no bottlenecks what has happened is that, the cost to produce is it's biggest problem, and not it's aging technology. Normally it's the other way around. So, this time Sony needs to re-balance that again and a handheld PS5 called PS6P will be the result of that. It will definitely hold back gaming but they have no choice because they need to create a mass market product and that's not possible without going really cheap next gen. 

A gaming console that is limited and holding things back is still better than one that doesn't even exist. 

Can Switch 2 Play Ghost of Yotei, Wolverine, Intergelatic, GTA 6, whatever the rumoured God of War Spin off is?

Will Switch 2 or Steamdeck inherit you entire PSN library from day one?

Will it have PS6 feature set and be able to support AI NPCs, AI driven physics systems, advance ray traycing?

When head to head in showdowns will it be able to compete with the portable PS6 version of games like Final Fantasy VII part 3? Hell will VII part 3 even be on it day one or like most ports will it require 9months of dedicated effort after the main release to get onto Switch 2.

The real world perception of "Performance" is more than fps. GTA6 had people's jaws on the flaw at 30fps because it looks incredible. There is no confusion in how Sony will market a portable PS6. If you're someone who likes hybrids/handhelds, you probably will get it AND get a Switch 2. The primary reason of a S2 is to play Nintendo Games, not to play the newest GTA, Call of duty, Star Wars, Witcher 4 etc

You do know that there are already handhelds that are as powerful in CPU and GPU as PS5? GPD win 5. AI max+ 395 chipset in a small handheld. Yes, it has high power consumption and is more expensive, but the PS6P is still over 2 years away so by the time 2027 comes around there will be a cheaper and less power hungry equivalent that Sony can put into the PS6P. 

Why would Sony put a chipset in the PS6P that's weaker than GPD win 5, a console that launched at least 2 years earlier. No offence, but I think Nintendo's weak hardware has just conditioned you into thinking power doesn't matter and it's ok if it's just weak old tech, as long as it has exclusives. The Switch 2 so far seems to be a success, but lets not get carried away yet it's still early days. The weak hardware strategy might still fail in the long run, we just haven't seen it yet. Yes, i know Switch 1 had weak hardware but that console was revolutionary, Switch 2 isn't 

Neither Switch nor Switch 2 had weak hardware. For the price, they're both solid platforms. If the Switch 2 fails to replicate Switch 1's success in the long run, it wouldn't be the specs' fault.

Im sorry I just don't think you understand the market you're talking about.

1. There is no handheld giving PS5 performance or even close. PS6 portable will wipe the floor with any current machine out there. Beyond horse power it will receive dedicated software support, and none of the current crop are RDNA5 architecture, none support FSR4 or above. None have rayreconstruction features etc

2. All PC handhelds are extremely niche and have sold less than PSVita/Dreamcast so far. < 5m. Switch 2 is competing with its own potential (whether it can meet Switch 1), not with steamdeck which it outsold in 1month versus the others having 3 years on market.

3. By simply having an actual mainstream product in stores, with a recognisable name and promoted exclusives and dedicated support, dedicated OS/function, you are in fact already standing well above the PC competition in sales if we can even call it competition.

4. PS6 portable is a low spectrum of the PS6 ecosystem. Do not get stuck on it as the primary PS6. Scalability is the present and future, game budgets can't get much higher but we've seen with Outlaws that even the most ambitions games can scale down and the next gerational leap in the handheld space will really wipe out that gulf in terms of traditional game experiences on gaming tablets vs home console. It's part diminishing returns and part necessity. 

Again you may just lose 60fps and quality of lighting/fidelity. Functionality however shall translate without much issue. 

The biggest questions about the portable PS6 imo are:

1) How will it handle BC. Can it be automated or will developers need to port or patch every game?

2) how much will it cost if it delivers on its promises experience?

The Switch 2 costs 450$ and is struggling to run Elden Ring and Borderlands 4 at 30fps. Why defend it?

1. You clearly haven't seen the performance of the Ai Max+ 395 chipset. It has the power of a PS5 and it is in the GPD win 5 handheld.

2. Why's this relevant? I was just using the GPD win 5 as an example of a powerful chipset in a small PS6P like chassis. 

3. OK sure. This point doesn't apply to PS6P though does it? 

4. Why do you think it will be so hard to match PS5 performance? It's already 5 years old. My prediction is that the base model of development for new games will still be the PS5, and the game will be scaled to the other PS6 platforms. Not going to be difficult for a handheld to match PS5 if it's launching in 2027 when we already have the Ai Max+ 395 chipset in small handhelds. The belief that It can't easily match the PS5 is crazy. Again, you've just been conditioned into accepting weak hardware and that strong hardware isn't possible in handheld. 

1) Post for me this gaming handheld that matches PS5 performance in a game so I can be educated :)

Edit: AMD Strix Halo gaming handheld lacks an internal battery — GPD Win 5 requires an external battery or be plugged into the wall
... Yeah, no. And at $2000 too!! lolol. Well I stand corrected in that there WILL be a "handheld" by the end of the year which have PS5 performance and and it's explains precisely why this conversation is really silly. That is not a mainstream device, not today and not in 2 years. 

2) You're not getting any of my former mentioned points so I don't think there's any worth discussing the broader topic. I'll agree to disagree and leave it there 

Would 10th gen be better off with a single PS6 home console SKU that costs $750 to $1000?

or

Would 10th gen be better off with PS6P leak range hardware, and possibly a home console in the PS5 to PS5 Pro range?

What matters most about the hardware is that it's seen as strong enough, for cheap enough, by the masses.

SNY at the end of the day wants to sell as much software as possible, and this handheld hybrid/home console route would be the best path to that.

The price has not been announced yet so you are being extremely disingenuous to claim a price has been announced. You missed my point, in the world of tech What is expensive and high end now becomes mid range and cheap within a short time frame. We still have 2 years until PS6P launches, and there is no way Sony are going to launch a handheld that is getting blown out of the water by a handheld released in 2025. Also, the battery is only technically external, as it just clips on to the back so I don't know why you find that to be such an issue as it's just a design choice. Means you can quickly swap batteries etc. 

Agreed, but the PS6P baseline performance will match PS5's. PS5 will be ancient by the time it launches and it won't be hard to achieve. It might have a weaker GPU but they will just use FSR4 to boost it up to the same resolution as PS5 games. 

Why release a PS6 home console that is in PS5 and PS5 pro range when those consoles already exist? Only explanation for that would be a PS vita TV style device that's super cheap, but Sony still needs a high end option. Overall, we agree though.