New personal headcanon: the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy IS an extraordinary machine, and the only reason it failed is because the Flim Flam Brothers sabotaged themselves in an attempt to produce more. Realistically that's an extremely efficient machine, able to do the job of four Earth Ponies at least three times faster.
However, I believe that even if the Brothers DIDN'T overwhelm their machine with garbage, they STILL wouldn't match up to the quality of the Apples' cider- because their machine lacks the earth pony magic required to ferment those apples so quickly!
The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy IS efficient, but without Earth Pony magic poured into it, it only makes apple juice. To make cider, they'd need to let it sit in barrels for at least one or two seasons before it fermented properly... OR they could have a handful of skilled Earth Pony farmers make about 20 barrels a day, saving them months of waiting + better control of their cider batches.
It really is quantity vs quality there, folks!