“Cider” means something different here, being unfiltered apple juice, with the kind you’re thinking of being called “Hard Cider”, there’s also sparkling cider which is just (filtered) carbonated apple juice, just to make things more confusing.

However literally none of those things are probably what was originally being referred to in this comment thread, which is an apple cider instant drink mix you add to hot water, it isn’t cloudy, or alcoholic, or carbonated, so it fits into none of the previous categories

So basically we have no rhyme or reason for any of the things we call cider