People not understanding what was presented to them. No the PS5 is not 9.2TF or 8TF, it is 10.23TF theoretical TF just like XSX is 12.155 theoretical TF.
Variable in this sense does not mean the GPU throttles down and performance of the game suffers. Its not like in mobile SoC where the cpu and gpu throttle up for a couple of seconds then throttle down to save power.
First is
Smart-shift AMD tech. The GPU and CPU no longer have independent fixed power budget. Both processors share a common power budget but of course the GPU will demand more than the CPU. This means that when the CPU is not performing intensive tasks, more power will be pushed into the GPU and when the GPU is not performing intensive task and then the CPU gets more if it needs it. No two games or parts of a game demands the same amount of processing power, this allows for dynamic power management between CPU and GPU for any given moment.
Second is Variable Frequency
The GPU and CPU have a capped frequency that all SoC must be able to hit. 3.5GHz CPU and 2.23GHz (10.28TF performance) for GPU. This is the thermal limit of the designed cooling system. It does not matter what environment you place the system within normal use case, it should be able to handle the heat generated from pushing the SoC to the capped 3.5GHz CPU and 2.23GHz GPU. This means that rather than running the GPU and CPU at a constant frequency while varying the power based on workload, they instead supply both CPU and GPU a constant power, enough to reach 3.5 and 2.23 GHz for GPU and CPU but allow the frequency to change based on workload.
Think of it like dynamic resolution, instead of running the game at 1080p constant and tearing a frame or dropping frame rate, you lower the resolution along any of the axis to maintain framerate.
In essence, PS4 runs at a constant 1.6GHz CPU and 800MHz GPU but the power consumed depends on the game. That is why you hear fan ramp up for some games and not others. With PS5 they pushed the system to a limit and designed the cooling system to handle that limit but the CPU and GPU can control their frequency based on the given workload it is doing. It does not mean PS5 will suddenly drop to 8TF because it over heats. No it means the frequency can drop because the game does not demand much from the SoC.
Hope that helps explain some stuff based on how i as a lay person understands it.