On Sat, 01 Mar 2014 13:45:05 -0500, nospam wrote:

Does Apple publish those numbers?

no, but older ios devices could run a wifi analyzer app that showed
actual signal strength numbers.

That's a good idea for comparison between two devices in your hand.

But, what we really need for comparison purposes is the true transmit
power (in mW or dB), antenna gain (in dBi), & receiver sensitivity
(in dBm).

The FCC must have a record of these antenna and radio specs
because they are required by law for all devices sold in
the United States.

I'll see if I can figure out of the FCC database is available
to the public.