Correct me if I'm wrong, but a core part of their messaging has been that they don't actually know what users are storing inside their cloud, has it not?

Maybe, but they can change that at any time. If they wanted to have visibility into iCloud data going forward they easily could.

With Apple products, you're putting your privacy entirely in Apple's hands and assuming that their executives will continue to follow the same branding and product strategy that they've been pursuing for the past few years.

That said, Apple is probably the least bad option for phone + cloud for most people. But it's sad that that's the case.

Didn't Apple prove to the FBI in court that they literally cannot access a users iCloud data without their password?

Obviously that still isn't as trustworthy as open source tools you can verify yourself, but it's a far cry better than any privacy guarantee you're getting from Google.

> Didn't Apple prove to the FBI in court that they literally cannot access a users iCloud data without their password?

No. Apple regularly hands over iCloud data to government investigator. In China, Apple handed over its keys, so the Chinese government does not even need to involve Apple to get iCloud data.