The song received generally positive reviews from
music critics. Lee White of
This Is Fake DIY stated that "the song delivered with confidence and feels more considered than the onrush of fury and emotion that trademarked
The Holy Bible." Mike Diver of
Clash argued that "the song is among the most aggressive pieces the Manics have penned since the days of ‘
Faster’, the thundering drumbeats propelling it to juddering climax, while Wire’s bass work has rarely sounded so pant-wettingly threatening." Dom Gourlay of
Drowned in Sound also compared the song to the track "Faster", also describing songs' verses as "simply one of the most compelling vignettes the Manic Street Preachers have ever recorded." David Smith of
Popmatters praised Steve Albini's "refreshingly raw" production work on the song. Joe Tangari of
Pitchfork stated that the song "opens the album with a colossal kick to the head as a queasy bassline is joined by pounding drums and sandpaper guitar to back Bradfield's righteous shout." Sam Richards of
Uncut stated that the song features "an oil-boring bass rumble, a searing
post-punk guitar line and a slew of unmistakable Richey aphorisms." He also described it as a pulsating opener, also inferring that "the band have recaptured that taut urgency, accommodating both their
punk instincts and their stadium rock flourishes." In his separate track review, Jonathan Garrett of
Pitchfork wrote: "No question that "Apples" is firmly rooted in the past, splitting the difference between the near-pathologically
hook-laden
Generation Terrorists and the more deliberately caustic
The Holy Bible, and there will undoubtedly be some who dismiss it solely on those grounds-- chalking up "Apples" as nothing more than an overly cynical, calculated attempt to cash in on the Edwards era from a band straining not to show its age." ==Remix==