High-side current sensing can offer an advantage in terms of diagnostics capabilities such as detecting shorts and protects the integrity of the ground path from an extraneous shunt resistance.
In certain applications such as motor control or power management accurate high-side monitoring is necessary when there is need to continuously monitor the circuit for various faults that could otherwise bypass a low-side sensor. The reason low side is more common is because it is an easier approach, as the high side needs to cope with a relatively high common mode voltage. The MAX17260 simply gives the possibility of using either of the two.