Apple fan/cynic David McManus continues his critique of the tech giant

In terms of cash in the bank, Apple’s $60 billion in reserve puts it in the world’s number one spot by a factor of two over its second place rival.

That huge pile of cash alone proves that the company’s products – led primarily by the iPhone – have been in high demand for some time. We can certainly park any question that Apple makes quality hardware that people want and that it has built a consumer reputation that any other company would kill for a brief sniff at.

But does the quality of the software and services that run exclusively on that hardware still match it for polish and reliability or is that veneer starting to tarnish? Do a steady series of issues threaten the company’s reputation?

Is Apple losing its mojo?

Last week I posed that very question, basing my case for the prosecution on a direction that started with the release of iOS 7 a couple of years ago. This was the elegant but controversial redesign for the iPhone that said goodbye to familiar buttons and interface elements that had been standard since the phone’s launch. It looked prettier but it still caused confusion over what to press.

And then there is iCloud. Oh, iCloud.

It says as much as you need to know that so many Apple users eschew the company’s cloud services in favour of rivals like Dropbox, Google and even Microsoft.

Apple’s cloud certainly missed the invitation to the party when it comes to the catchphrase “It just works”. As with its rivals, iCloud is supposed to work as both an online storage space for your files and also the backbone for your documents and photographs, keeping them in sync between devices.

The way Apple merges all its services that use iCloud and the options for managing its different aspects on OS X and iOS is bewildering. All users get a measly 5GB of space but that can also be shared between iPhone backups and e-mail attachments leaving you to wonder where that precious space has gone.

The uncharitable might claim it as a ploy to prompt you into purchasing more space.

That new Apple TV is great. Finally I can install apps on it and use them on the big screen but Apple’s aggressively minimalist ideology gave rise to its dreadfully designed remote control which has symmetrically placed buttons and a sensitive touchpad that makes picking it up in the dark an exercise in mistaken presses.

The finest example of Apple losing its way though is Apple Music. Here is a company that singlehandedly fused music and the Internet with iTunes and the iPod so when it unveiled a streaming service to rival Spotify, the world had high hopes.

But Apple Music is an unqualified mess. As with iCloud it feels that the company is trying to merge too much, creating a confusing interface where some things work one way and others another. Am I searching for music to stream or music to buy? Why can’t I add this song to my library? Why am I being recommended albums I already own?

And finally there is the iPad Pro. It has a fabric keyboard, a plastic stylus and costs over £1,000. Enough said.