I know potency used to be an issue, but it may no longer be the case? This is only my impression from reading up online, so I'm not sure - but this is also why I'm giving these autos a chance.
I'm out in Amsterdam rn, and autos are gaining popularity (at least for now). Some seed banks have a third to a half of their catalogue as auto strains.
Seeing/smoking some of the nugs, i dont think i could discern between photo and auto bud of the same kind of strain from the same grower.
Edit: not that Amsterdam holds the absolute best in the way of standards; weed-wise, they certainly do things well, but the culture is frozen in time.