The download attribute is helpful when you don't have control over the mime types the server handles. Downloading is the sensible option as opposed to trying to

The download attribute is helpful when you don't have control over the mime types the server handles. Downloading is the sensible option as opposed to trying to display a .bin file. Also, it allows you to ensure that if you have a button that says 'download', it will actually download the file instead of having it replace the application---the principle of least surprise.