# VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID(3) Manual Page

## Name

VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID - Structure describing the image format properties of an Android hardware buffer

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## C Specification

To obtain format properties of an Android hardware buffer, include a `VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID` structure in the `pNext` chain of the VkAndroidHardwareBufferPropertiesANDROID structure passed to vkGetAndroidHardwareBufferPropertiesANDROID. This structure is defined as:

    // Provided by VK_ANDROID_external_memory_android_hardware_buffer
    typedef struct VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID {
        VkStructureType                  sType;
        void*                            pNext;
        VkFormat                         format;
        uint64_t                         externalFormat;
        VkFormatFeatureFlags             formatFeatures;
        VkComponentMapping               samplerYcbcrConversionComponents;
        VkSamplerYcbcrModelConversion    suggestedYcbcrModel;
        VkSamplerYcbcrRange              suggestedYcbcrRange;
        VkChromaLocation                 suggestedXChromaOffset;
        VkChromaLocation                 suggestedYChromaOffset;
    } VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID;

## Members

- `sType` is a VkStructureType value identifying this structure.

- `pNext` is `NULL` or a pointer to a structure extending this structure.

- `format` is the Vulkan format corresponding to the Android hardware buffer’s format, or `VK_FORMAT_UNDEFINED` if there is not an equivalent Vulkan format.

- `externalFormat` is an implementation-defined external format identifier for use with VkExternalFormatANDROID. It must not be zero.

- `formatFeatures` describes the capabilities of this external format when used with an image bound to memory imported from `buffer`.

- `samplerYcbcrConversionComponents` is the component swizzle that should be used in VkSamplerYcbcrConversionCreateInfo.

- `suggestedYcbcrModel` is a suggested color model to use in the VkSamplerYcbcrConversionCreateInfo.

- `suggestedYcbcrRange` is a suggested numerical value range to use in VkSamplerYcbcrConversionCreateInfo.

- `suggestedXChromaOffset` is a suggested X chroma offset to use in VkSamplerYcbcrConversionCreateInfo.

- `suggestedYChromaOffset` is a suggested Y chroma offset to use in VkSamplerYcbcrConversionCreateInfo.

## Description

If the Android hardware buffer has one of the formats listed in the Format Equivalence table, then `format` must have the equivalent Vulkan format listed in the table. Otherwise, `format` may be `VK_FORMAT_UNDEFINED`, indicating the Android hardware buffer can only be used with an external format.

The `formatFeatures` member must include `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_BIT` and at least one of `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_MIDPOINT_CHROMA_SAMPLES_BIT` or `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_COSITED_CHROMA_SAMPLES_BIT`, and should include `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_FILTER_LINEAR_BIT` and `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_YCBCR_CONVERSION_LINEAR_FILTER_BIT`.

Note | The `formatFeatures` member only indicates the features available when using an external-format image created from the Android hardware buffer. Images from Android hardware buffers with a format other than `VK_FORMAT_UNDEFINED` are subject to the format capabilities obtained from vkGetPhysicalDeviceFormatProperties2, and vkGetPhysicalDeviceImageFormatProperties2 with appropriate parameters. These sets of features are independent of each other, e.g. the external format will support sampler Y′CBCR conversion even if the non-external format does not, and rendering directly to the external format will not be supported even if the non-external format does support this.

Android hardware buffers with the same external format must have the same support for `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_FILTER_LINEAR_BIT`, `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_MIDPOINT_CHROMA_SAMPLES_BIT`, `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_COSITED_CHROMA_SAMPLES_BIT`, `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_YCBCR_CONVERSION_LINEAR_FILTER_BIT`, `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_YCBCR_CONVERSION_SEPARATE_RECONSTRUCTION_FILTER_BIT`, and `VK_FORMAT_FEATURE_SAMPLED_IMAGE_YCBCR_CONVERSION_CHROMA_RECONSTRUCTION_EXPLICIT_FORCEABLE_BIT`. in `formatFeatures`. Other format features may differ between Android hardware buffers that have the same external format. This allows applications to use the same VkSamplerYcbcrConversion object (and samplers and pipelines created from them) for any Android hardware buffers that have the same external format.

If `format` is not `VK_FORMAT_UNDEFINED`, then the value of `samplerYcbcrConversionComponents` must be valid when used as the `components` member of VkSamplerYcbcrConversionCreateInfo with that format. If `format` is `VK_FORMAT_UNDEFINED`, all members of `samplerYcbcrConversionComponents` must be the identity swizzle.

Implementations may not always be able to determine the color model, numerical range, or chroma offsets of the image contents, so the values in `VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID` are only suggestions. Applications should treat these values as sensible defaults to use in the absence of more reliable information obtained through some other means. If the underlying physical device is also usable via OpenGL ES with the `GL_OES_EGL_image_external` extension, the implementation should suggest values that will produce similar sampled values as would be obtained by sampling the same external image via `samplerExternalOES` in OpenGL ES using equivalent sampler parameters.

Note | Since `GL_OES_EGL_image_external` does not require the same sampling and conversion calculations as Vulkan does, achieving identical results between APIs may not be possible on some implementations.

Valid Usage (Implicit)

- VUID-VkAndroidHardwareBufferFormatPropertiesANDROID-sType-sType
  `sType` must be `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_ANDROID_HARDWARE_BUFFER_FORMAT_PROPERTIES_ANDROID`

## See Also

VK_ANDROID_external_memory_android_hardware_buffer, VkChromaLocation, VkComponentMapping, VkFormat, VkFormatFeatureFlags, VkSamplerYcbcrModelConversion, VkSamplerYcbcrRange, VkStructureType

## Document Notes

For more information, see the Vulkan Specification

This page is extracted from the Vulkan Specification. Fixes and changes should be made to the Specification, not directly.

## Copyright

Copyright 2014-2025 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0