diff --git a/include/SDL3/SDL_gpu.h b/include/SDL3/SDL_gpu.h
index 232b4cee32594..fc071759cd750 100644
--- a/include/SDL3/SDL_gpu.h
+++ b/include/SDL3/SDL_gpu.h
@@ -159,6 +159,24 @@
  * and reasonable to implement across several platforms and underlying APIs.
  * So while these things are not in the "never" category, they are definitely
  * not "near future" items either.
+ *
+ * ## System Requirements
+ *
+ * **Vulkan:** Supported on Windows, Linux, Nintendo Switch, and certain Android devices. Requires Vulkan 1.0 with the following extensions and device features:
+ * - `VK_KHR_swapchain`
+ * - `VK_KHR_maintenance1`
+ * - `independentBlend`
+ * - `imageCubeArray`
+ * - `depthClamp`
+ * - `shaderClipDistance`
+ * - `drawIndirectFirstInstance`
+ *
+ * **D3D12:** Supported on Windows 10 or newer, Xbox One (GDK), and Xbox Series X|S (GDK). Requires a GPU that supports DirectX 12 Feature Level 11_1.
+ *
+ * **Metal:** Supported on macOS 10.14+ and iOS/tvOS 13.0+. Hardware requirements vary by operating system:
+ * - macOS requires an Apple Silicon or [Intel Mac2 family](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/metal/mtlfeatureset/mtlfeatureset_macos_gpufamily2_v1?language=objc) GPU
+ * - iOS/tvOS requires an A9 GPU or newer
+ * - iOS Simulator and tvOS Simulator are unsupported
  */
 
 #ifndef SDL_gpu_h_
diff --git a/src/gpu/metal/SDL_gpu_metal.m b/src/gpu/metal/SDL_gpu_metal.m
index 028e18a438633..d2a970a18b1a1 100644
--- a/src/gpu/metal/SDL_gpu_metal.m
+++ b/src/gpu/metal/SDL_gpu_metal.m
@@ -4180,7 +4180,7 @@ static bool METAL_SupportsTextureFormat(
 
 static bool METAL_PrepareDriver(SDL_VideoDevice *this)
 {
-    if (@available(macOS 10.13, iOS 13.0, tvOS 13.0, *)) {
+    if (@available(macOS 10.14, iOS 13.0, tvOS 13.0, *)) {
         return (this->Metal_CreateView != NULL);
     }
     return false;
@@ -4342,6 +4342,7 @@ static void METAL_INTERNAL_DestroyBlitResources(
     @autoreleasepool {
         MetalRenderer *renderer;
         id<MTLDevice> device = NULL;
+        bool hasHardwareSupport = false;
 
         if (debugMode) {
             /* Due to a Metal driver quirk, once a MTLDevice has been created
@@ -4372,6 +4373,23 @@ static void METAL_INTERNAL_DestroyBlitResources(
             }
         }
 
+#ifdef SDL_PLATFORM_MACOS
+        if (@available(macOS 10.15, *)) {
+            hasHardwareSupport = [device supportsFamily:MTLGPUFamilyMac2];
+        } else if (@available(macOS 10.14, *)) {
+            hasHardwareSupport = [device supportsFeatureSet:MTLFeatureSet_macOS_GPUFamily2_v1];
+        }
+#else
+        if (@available(iOS 13.0, tvOS 13.0, *)) {
+            hasHardwareSupport = [device supportsFamily:MTLGPUFamilyApple3];
+        }
+#endif
+
+        if (!hasHardwareSupport) {
+            SDL_SetError("Device does not meet the hardware requirements for SDL_GPU Metal");
+            return NULL;
+        }
+
         // Allocate and zero out the renderer
         renderer = (MetalRenderer *)SDL_calloc(1, sizeof(MetalRenderer));