What even is a "hybrid" anymore? Are PC handhelds like SteamDeck not hybrid enough? Who is the arbiter of the label?

When the Switch 1 launched, its hybrid status was very much real, distinct, and significant as it was the first affordable handheld to adequately provide a home console/desktop like gaming experience/environment, and it remained this way until the SteamDeck launched 5 years later. But modern PC handhelds do the same and to arguaby a better effect in a way or two (and worse in others), because they're a lot more capable and play the exact same games your desktop do. The downside is that they're not as smooth or easy to use, and connecting them to an external display is a little cumbersome. In this respect, the PS6 handheld will be closer to Switch 2, owing to its console plug-and-play nature.

There is no longer much difference between a hybrid and a handheld. What functionally sets Switch 2 apart from other handhelds is that A) it's a console, and B) its ecosystem is purely hybrid as opposed to having stationary options. But I suspect Nintendo will offer a stationary version eventually.

I think the PS6 handheld will launch without a dock or even an output, but they will sell docks as an accessory (with charging and the necessary outputs). I also think a Vita TV-esque version is coming as the cheapest way to enter the ecosystem.

Not in the market for one, but if I was, home console - if rumours are correct, gap between it and handheld will be quite substantial, and as someone who would be interested in playing games strictly in home environment, home console is automatically better option (if I need home portability, there is solution for that in PSPortal or alike).

I am buying neither. My PS5 Pro with Disc Drive attachment is my final Sony console. I will probably stick with Nintendo going forward, and use my PC for anything else. If Microsoft surprises, I will consider them.

So the console is preferred so far, but not overwhelmingly.

Seems the cost/diminishing returns angle is making the portable more appealing to the PS crowd than it might otherwise have been, given the PS4 outsold the Vita by like 9:1 back in the day.

Yeah the handheld might fare better than expected, but it's mainly because most home console players will stick to their PS5's.

If a stationary version of the handheld is released though (effectively a home console, let's call it "PS6 Lite"), then the majority of the remaining PS4 players as well as the new players looking to enter the ecosystem will go for that instead, because it's the cheapest option.

Yeah a lot will depend on pricing.

A PS6 Lite would presumably still have at least 16GB of RAM, maybe 24GB, which is the main limiting factor in console prices atm, so getting it to a low price point might not be possible for a while without eating a huge loss.

They could of course have a model with less, like the Series S. That brings its own challenges, but given the games will all need to run on PS5 anyway, maybe 16Gb would be feasible.