For longer cables the cost is significant. USB-C can carry 5A, so you need 18 gauge wire for ~12 feet. Ideally you'd do the 8 power/ground pins at 18awg and the 16 data pins at 28awg. But that's a substantially more expensive cable than just 24 wires of 28awg.

And as a user it's annoying to have an excessively stiff cable, so it's suboptimal to have every cable support 240W charging, but for cost and convenience.

It's a mess. We all said we wanted one cable that does everything, and I still feel that way, but here I am buying different cables for laptop charging versus iPad charging because I want a light/thin cable for the iPad. Sigh.

By Grabthar's Hammer