# Audio Format Flags Commonly used combinations of data format flags for an audio stream description. ## Discussion Prefer using fixed-point formats in and floating-point formats in . ## Topics ### Format flags [`var kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_16BitSourceData: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_16BitSourceData) A flag that indicates Apple Lossless data sourced from 16-bit native endian signed integer data. [`var kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_20BitSourceData: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_20BitSourceData) A flag that indicates Apple Lossless data sourced from 20-bit native endian signed integer data aligned high in 24 bits. [`var kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_24BitSourceData: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_24BitSourceData) A flag that indicates Apple Lossless data sourced from 24-bit native endian signed integer data. [`var kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_32BitSourceData: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAppleLosslessFormatFlag_32BitSourceData) A flag that indicates Apple Lossless data sourced from 32-bit native endian signed integer data. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsAlignedHigh: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsAlignedHigh) A flag that indicates whether placement of the sample bits is with the high or low bits of the channel. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsBigEndian: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsBigEndian) A flag that indicates whether the format is big or little endian. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsFloat: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsFloat) A flag that indicates whether the format is floating point or integer. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsNonInterleaved: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsNonInterleaved) A flag that indicates whether the samples for each channel or frame are continguously located, and whether the layout of the channels or frames is end-to-end. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsNonMixable: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsNonMixable) A flag that indicates the format is nonmixable. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsPacked: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsPacked) A flag that indicates whether placement of the sample bits occupy the entire available bits of the channel. [`var kAudioFormatFlagIsSignedInteger: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagIsSignedInteger) A flag that indicates whether the format is signed or unsigned integer. [`var kAudioFormatFlagsAreAllClear: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagsAreAllClear) A flag that indicates whether all the flags are clear. [`var kAudioFormatFlagsNativeEndian: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagsNativeEndian) A flag that specifies whether the format is big endian, depending on the endianness of the processor at build time. [`var kAudioFormatFlagsNativeFloatPacked: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagsNativeFloatPacked) The flags for the canonical format of fully packed, native endian floating-point data. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsAlignedHigh: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsAlignedHigh) A flag that indicates whether placement of the sample bits is with the high or low bits of the channel. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsBigEndian: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsBigEndian) A flag that indicates whether the format is big or little endian. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsFloat: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsFloat) A flag that indicates whether the format is floating point or integer. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsNonInterleaved: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsNonInterleaved) A flag that indicates whether the samples for each channel or frame are continguously located, and whether the layout of the channels or frames is end-to-end. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsNonMixable: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsNonMixable) A flag that indicates the format is nonmixable. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsPacked: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsPacked) A flag that indicates whether placement of the sample bits occupy the entire available bits of the channel. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsSignedInteger: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsSignedInteger) A flag that indicates whether the format is signed or unsigned integer. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagsAreAllClear: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagsAreAllClear) A flag that indicates whether all the flags are clear. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagsSampleFractionMask: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagsSampleFractionMask) A flag that indicates the sample fraction mask. [`var kLinearPCMFormatFlagsSampleFractionShift: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kLinearPCMFormatFlagsSampleFractionShift) A flag that indicates the bit position of the PCM flag’s 6-bit bitfield. [`var kAudioFormatFlagsAudioUnitCanonical: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagsAudioUnitCanonical) The flags for the canonical audio unit and processing sample type. [`var kAudioFormatFlagsCanonical: AudioFormatFlags`](/documentation/CoreAudioTypes/kAudioFormatFlagsCanonical) The set of flags for the canonical input-output audio sample type. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)