New MacBooks Stronger, Drop Mouse Buttons, Add Multi-Touch

Apple’s MacBook event has just come to an end, leaving Apple enthusiasts with a handful of—surprise!—new MacBooks. The updates hit all three models (the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air) and boast improved hardware across the board, a glass trackpad that’s gone buttonless, and built-in support for multi-touch gestures. Despite the updates to the standard MacBook (including a new aluminium case design), Apple’s keeping the old plastic MacBook around. The event also brought one hardware announcement unrelated to MacBooks in the form of a new 24″ Apple Cinema Display. Keep reading for a more pics and a rundown of the announcements we’re most interested in.

Multi-Touch Gestures

It’s clear the multi-touch is going to play an important role in the future of computers, so it’s really interesting to see what direction Apple is taking with their multi-touch trackpads. Here’s the way multi-touch has been set out to work on the new MacBooks:

• Two-finger gesture: Pinch and rotate for zooming and panning
• Three-finger gesture: Swiping between photos
• Four-finger gesture: Expose and app switching

I’m sure the functionality will actually extend beyond these options depending on the context and given time, but it’s a great start.

New Display with Built-in Charger for MacBooks

There’s no question that the new Cinema Display is gorgeous, and thank god they’ve finally added iSight and built-in speakers, but the most innovative feature in the new displays is probably the inclusion of a MagSafe connector for charging your laptop while it’s plugged into or sitting next to the display.

Our brothers-in-gadgets at Gizmodo were there for the blow-by-blow, so if you’re looking for more details, they’ve got ‘em:

• MacBook Pro 2008 Is Most Stunning Apple Notebook Yet
• New MacBooks Get Glass Trackpad with New Multitouch Gestures, No Buttons
• MacBook Air Gets 4x Faster Graphics, Mini DisplayPort, Holds More Stuff
• Apple Unveils 24-Inch LED Cinema Display With iSight for $899
• Next-Generation MacBook Ditches the Plastic, Becomes MacBook Pro Mini

Huge thanks to Gizmodo for the photos and the excellent live-blog. Let’s hear what you think about today’s Apple announcements in the comments.