We already know that the amiibo cards and amiibo figures for Animal Crossing work differently from each other. For amiibo festival, the Tom Nook figure will serve as a playing piece, but if you scan the Tom Nook card it will only let you play a mini-game. The Villager amiibo figure gives you an item in Happy Home Designer (the gold villager statue). So it stands to reason that the new amiibo figures might unlock something too!
I would also like to know the answer from anyone who gets these figures but has HHD!