Most traditional and many craft cider makers will make cider without ever using any cultured yeast, they will rely on just wild yeast to populate the apple juice. Wild yeast is all around us and on most things, it's amazing how it gets into everything, which is one reason why cleanliness and sanitation is so important with beer. It's a little more risky and far less controlled, but the end result can give you some of the best and most characterful ciders ever.
When I make cider I keep it really simple. I make cider/perry only at fruit harvest time and make enough for the whole year. Literally, pick (or buy) your apples, ensure there are no apples with rot or mold, swill them (to remove any muck off the skins mainly), crushed them up as finely as you can, press them as well as you can to extract as much juice as possible, discard the pulp (compost) and collect the juice into a container. I normally then leave the container open but covered with a damp cloth for a day or so. This isn't strictly necessary (I have also used an airlock straight after pressing and often it still starts fermenting, as it's had sometime exposure for the yeasts during pressing, etc) but I have found it helps avoid non-starts of fermentation and can actually increase the character of the cider, as it will allow plenty of yeasts to take hold, particularly if you have been scrupulously clean with all your equipment. After a day or so, or sooner if you see evidence of fermentation, then get an airlock on there for the rest of the fermentation.
The wonderful thing is that depending on many factors, will depend on what yeast take hold and start fermenting. Yeast strains have a terrific influence (like with beer) on the flavours of the end result. Often it will be many different strains of yeast through the process, as the conditions of the juice changes. This all adds to the character of your final cider, along with a few other factors. The wild yeast will also vary from area to area, and many cider makers say that this, along with where the apples are grown, etc, contributes to a cider area having a unique "terroir" of their own.
One thing to note though, the apple varieties you choose will have the huge influence on the final flavour. If buying fruit as many do, cooking apples and many eating apples will be high in acid and give a largely tart or "sharp" flavour, and be quite "thin" more like a wine, which is what most people making their first cider will experience. I'm lucky living in Herefordshire, I am surrounded by apple orchards, most of them growing cider apple fruit, which can be Sweets, Bittersweets, Bittersharps and Sharps, which are basically referring to the tannin, sugar and acidity levels. You probably know about sweetness and acid, but tannin can give body, depth and bitterness. The best cider for me, I have found, is achieving a nice balance of those qualities in your final drink. I often make batches of cider from single trees, ferment them separate and then when they are finished cider, taste and blend from the different batches, as they can all offer something different to the flavour.
I could go on for hours, I hope I haven't bored you, and I hope that goes someway to helping.
