There are several articles out there, presumably covering one interview (could be multiple), where someone from Sony mentions that the systems team was looking at including audio CD capabilities through a system update. Obviously that never happened, but it sounded like that was their intent from the beginning, to maybe include it through an update.
if it was just an update, why not just jailbreak the ps4 mod it and make it work
I haven't seen an audio cd app to play them on the ps4
if it was just an official update in wich it might eventually work you might expect it to doable to just crack the system and play music cd's on a ps2 when they haven't released it just yet, yet this isn't the case.
Still why would it need to be an official update doesnt make any sense if it's not implemented from the get go.
It's a two fold software issue. The OS has to tell the reader to process the data, this is where the licensing from Philips or whomever comes into play. Philips doesn't require licensing to use a 780nm wavelength laser, they require licensing to process data from their owned medium. On the other side, there has to be software to do something with the data that is read, that is, needing an app to play music read from a CD. I would venture to guess the reason no one has done it is because if you were to illegally add the ability to read CDs without someone paying Philips you're opening yourself to lawsuit, but that's really me guessing on that one. I honestly have 0 knowledge of the PS4 modding scene, so I really couldn't say why it doesn't exist or if it doesn't exist.
From what I've read during release there was apparently backlash for ps4 not being able to play audio cd's
and that they promised to get it later on with an update
https://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/sony-remembers-ps4-will-play-cds-and-mp3s-after-update-1199081we are however 7 years later, no update and no one in the modding scene for it to happen
If I really had to guess sony probably just hoped that people would forget because the hardware to read cd's might have been removed in wich even an update doesnt make it possible to make a ps4 console read cd's again
If the hardware is missing no matter what you do,no amount of modding skills will be able to get that function back unless you actually go out of your way to just add some tech to the actual hardware. or maybe the usb update with mediaplayer for other sources was it's replacement update, since there is no way for them to make cd's work again by a software update alone.
People have been complaining since release, and you can do some crazy stuff with mods. I'm not deconfirming anything but I'd say the possibilty that the ps4 has hardware to actually play music cd's is very low. don't underestimate the modding scene if it really was just a software issue, the protection against using music cd's would have been cracked years ago let alone that sony for some reason just quitly walked away from it's promise to give people music cd's by update after the backlash wich probably was just impossible if I had to guess.
Maybe it's possible but I highly doubt that. Modding and jailbreaking a console doesn't matter for sony of philips, the consumer is at risk here if they they win the lottery and find you, but that's pretty much the modding jailbreak scene as a whole, it's personal usage wich people don't find anyway aside from the sources where people get the software or roms.