In my mind, they do deserve to be raked over the coals on this one. Times have changed, and Apple needs to adjust to stay relevant. In my mind, some of the things to consider...
With it's market success, Apple is under greater scrutiny to be constantly pushing the envelope. When they first entered the smartphone arena, no one took them seriously, yet they brought a device to market that was revolutionary and unmatched. Today, with every new super phone to hit the market, the question is asked "Is this the iPhone Killer?".
The Competition is catching up. When iPhone 4 launched, there was nothing on the market that rivalled it. In 16 short months, while Apple has basically sat on their hands, the likes of Samsung, HTC, and Motorola have brought new devices to market that match or exceed the technical specs of the iPhone 4S, leaving only their ecosystem and branding as the deciding factors.
The 4S is outdated out of the gate. Apple's window to launch this phone was really when they brought Verizon into the fold. The A5 chip was ready then, as was the new Antenna design. Releasing it then would have kept them ahead of the curve, making the spec bump acceptable. If they didn't want to interfere with iPad 2 launch, they could have held off the 4S launch until May. By going the route they did, engineering resources were wasted on the CDMA iPhone 4, as it has only had 7 months on the market before being deemed outdated.
This was Tim Cook's Chance to show the world Apple was in good hands under his watch. iPhone is their flagship product, and the timing could't be better for Cook to launch a new device that, once again, set Apple far ahead of the pack. Instead, they serve up a "refresh" that is 4 months late. No wonder Steve stepped down, wouldn't want the 4S to be the last product I announced either.
Finally...You can't compare their PC business with their Mobile Business. A few posters have mentioned that Apple only does slight refreshes of their computer lines on an annual basis, so why should the iPhone be any different, and why should we expect anything else. Quite simply it's because they are 2 different market segments. The PC market is a mature market that runs basically flat in terms of growth. That war was fought in the 80's and 90's. This decade, the war is in the mobile platforms - Tablets and Super Phones. To win the war, you need to constantly evolve, not sit back and admire the battlefield. Today, Apple was caught admiring their past battles.