I don't know why you got downvoted, because you are right, the new touchpad definitely has some travel. If you turn the machine off and press hard on the touchpad you can see the motion quite clearly around the edges.
They don’t. It’s simulated with force feedback. Try clicking with the machine turned off.
That was a truly confusing experience the first time I clicked when the machine was off. The click was a lie, yet I swore I felt mechanical travel.
Another fun way to test is to press with your nail compared to pressing with your finger tip.
The new touchpad definitely has physical travel. I turned mine off and pressed various spots on it. The "click" went away, of course, but the travel is clearly visible around the edges of the touchpad.