By the way, maybe this is a slight off-topic (but parallel topic) -- will availability of cheaper Lidars make autofocus an easier / better solved problem some time in the future? Or is this not such a problem to bother with the expense of a Lidar?

If you know exactly the distance to something you want in focus, and it no longer has to be "solved" by phase detection, or edge sharpness? Or is this even already being used with phones having Lidars built in? I guess if your lens isn't perfectly distance calibrated then it fails though.