I believe that higher currents are negotiated with digital signalling. Does that allow for the two ends talk to each other to determine the performance of a cable between them? The Apple lightning cables themselves include a chip.
Anyway, an interesting thing about USB C (and maybe 3.0, too) is that it can also negotiate 12 or 20 volts and even up to 5 amps. For the same wattage, a higher voltage will heat the cable less.
