Sony’s “hologram AF” was essentially an autofocus-assist system that projected a laser pattern onto the subject so a contrast-detection AF system could lock focus more reliably in low light. Its main limitation was range: it only worked over a short distance, roughly a few meters.

Newer cameras generally moved away from this because autofocus systems improved. Phase-detection AF is much faster than older contrast-based methods, and many cameras can also use AF-assist lamps or IR illuminators that serve a similar purpose in dark conditions. Those newer systems typically work at longer range and with better low-light sensitivity, so the dedicated hologram approach became less necessary.

In short: it wasn’t so much that hologram AF was bad, but that modern AF methods became faster, more sensitive, and more versatile.