Most of the major gaming platforms (e.g. Steam, Battle.net, etc.) use distributed dowloading systems. I’ve regularly seen 500-800Mbit/s from them on my “gigabit” cable connection.
There’s actually 2Gbit/s fiber service available in my area. One of the requirments is a 10GbE ethernet adapter. If you don’t have one they’ll charge you for it.
I don’t think it’s good form to suggest someone won’t need 10GbE ethernet for residential internet service with a timeframe of 10-30 years, which is beyond the reasonable expectation of useful life for the machine anyhow.
The most compelling reason for 10GbE is what I said before - a 1.25GB/s pipe into your Mini that doesn’t take away from Thunderbolt bandwidth. 1.25GB/s is enough to scrub 4K in several formats; combined with the rapid fall in prices of fast, large SSD, this is a pretty significant departure from where most NAS was even five years ago. My suspicion is that the cost of entry into 10 GbE NAS will continue to fall pretty quickly over the next year or two. Anyone planning on spending big on NAS in the next year or two is being pound stupid by not spending the $100 now to have built-in 10GbE.
These are good points, and dismissing 10Gb completely is an over-reaction to all the posts talking people into spending money on future-proofing for something that probably won't benefit them enough to justify the cost.
However, because many people here are tech enthusiasts and have things like a home NAS, it's easy to forget that the vast, vast majority do not and never will, or that they'll operate wirelessly rather than running CAT6 all over their house. The vast, vast majority of people these days are using a wireless device to connect to their home wireless router. Mesh networks are probably the immediate future in home networking.
The vast, vast majority of people won't have more than 1Gb internet within the next 5 years. Just because it's available, the costs are still way more than 90% of people are willing to pay.
So yes, if you're the type who has a home server or NAS of some type, or gets the highest tier of internet service available, or just the money isn't that big of a deal, then definitely go for it. I'm planning on a new mini myself, and I had just dismissed getting 10Gb, and now you have me reconsidering.
But if budget is a real constraint, and you're just the typical user who just connects to their wireless home network and 1Gb+ internet speeds are a ways off, I suggest being careful about getting sucked into the "future proofing" with no foreseeable need.