diff --git a/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.dep b/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.dep
index d8489f01b06e..41e6d4edfc3b 100644
--- a/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.dep
+++ b/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.dep
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ifneq (,$(filter cc2538_rf,$(USEMODULE)))
-  USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154
-  ifeq (,$(filter netdev_ieee802154_legacy,$(USEMODULE)))
+  ifneq (,$(filter cc2538_rf_netdev_legacy,$(USEMODULE)))
+    USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154
+  else ifneq (,$(filter netdev,$(USEMODULE)))
     USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154_submac
   endif
 endif
diff --git a/cpu/cc2538/include/cc2538_rf.h b/cpu/cc2538/include/cc2538_rf.h
index fc27bf96f8e2..a30c44f1c4b2 100644
--- a/cpu/cc2538/include/cc2538_rf.h
+++ b/cpu/cc2538/include/cc2538_rf.h
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 #include "net/ieee802154.h"
 #include "kernel_defines.h"
 
-#if IS_USED(MODULE_IEEE802154_RADIO_HAL)
+#if !IS_USED(MODULE_CC2538_RF_NETDEV_LEGACY)
 #include "net/ieee802154/radio.h"
 #if IS_USED(MODULE_NETDEV_IEEE802154_SUBMAC)
 #include "net/netdev/ieee802154_submac.h"
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ enum {
 typedef struct {
 #if IS_USED(MODULE_NETDEV_IEEE802154_SUBMAC)
     netdev_ieee802154_submac_t netdev;   /**< netdev parent struct */
-#elif !IS_USED(MODULE_IEEE802154_RADIO_HAL)
+#elif IS_USED(MODULE_CC2538_RF_NETDEV_LEGACY)
     netdev_ieee802154_t netdev;   /**< netdev parent struct */
 #endif
     uint8_t state;                /**< current state of the radio */
diff --git a/cpu/cc2538/radio/Makefile b/cpu/cc2538/radio/Makefile
index cafd539d3402..9bfe55433d21 100644
--- a/cpu/cc2538/radio/Makefile
+++ b/cpu/cc2538/radio/Makefile
@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@ SRC = \
     cc2538_rf_internal.c \
     #
 
-ifneq (,$(filter ieee802154_radio_hal,$(USEMODULE)))
-  SRC += cc2538_rf_radio_ops.c
-else
+# use netdev implementation when legacy is explicitly enabled
+ifneq (,$(filter cc2538_rf_netdev_legacy,$(USEMODULE)))
   SRC += cc2538_rf_netdev.c
+else
+  SRC += cc2538_rf_radio_ops.c
 endif
 
 include $(RIOTBASE)/Makefile.base
diff --git a/cpu/cc2538/radio/cc2538_rf.c b/cpu/cc2538/radio/cc2538_rf.c
index 899f092f7cf1..076d238dcd22 100644
--- a/cpu/cc2538/radio/cc2538_rf.c
+++ b/cpu/cc2538/radio/cc2538_rf.c
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ void cc2538_init(void)
     RFCORE_XREG_FIFOPCTRL = CC2538_RF_MAX_DATA_LEN;
 
     /* Set default IRQ */
-    if (IS_USED(MODULE_IEEE802154_RADIO_HAL)) {
+    if (!IS_USED(MODULE_CC2538_RF_NETDEV_LEGACY)) {
         RFCORE_XREG_RFIRQM1 = TXDONE | CSP_STOP | TXACKDONE;
         RFCORE_XREG_RFIRQM0 = RXPKTDONE | FIFOP | SFD;
     } else {
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ bool cc2538_on(void)
 
 void cc2538_setup(cc2538_rf_t *dev)
 {
-#if IS_USED(MODULE_IEEE802154_RADIO_HAL)
+#if !IS_USED(MODULE_CC2538_RF_NETDEV_LEGACY)
     (void) dev;
 #if IS_USED(MODULE_NETDEV_IEEE802154_SUBMAC)
     extern ieee802154_dev_t cc2538_rf_dev;
diff --git a/cpu/nrf52/Makefile.dep b/cpu/nrf52/Makefile.dep
index 9dc5836063b1..b42cbfc6bc1f 100644
--- a/cpu/nrf52/Makefile.dep
+++ b/cpu/nrf52/Makefile.dep
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ ifneq (,$(filter nrf802154,$(USEMODULE)))
   FEATURES_REQUIRED += periph_timer
   FEATURES_REQUIRED += radio_nrf802154
   USEMODULE += luid
-  USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154
-  ifeq (,$(filter netdev_ieee802154_legacy,$(USEMODULE)))
+  ifneq (,$(filter nrf802154_netdev_legacy,$(USEMODULE)))
+    USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154
+  else ifneq (,$(filter netdev,$(USEMODULE)))
     USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154_submac
   endif
 endif
diff --git a/cpu/nrf52/include/nrf802154.h b/cpu/nrf52/include/nrf802154.h
index 33a9428bfb7c..aab8fab59e9e 100644
--- a/cpu/nrf52/include/nrf802154.h
+++ b/cpu/nrf52/include/nrf802154.h
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 #ifndef NRF802154_H
 #define NRF802154_H
 
-#if IS_USED(MODULE_IEEE802154_RADIO_HAL)
+#if !IS_USED(MODULE_NRF802154_NETDEV_LEGACY)
 #include "net/ieee802154/radio.h"
 #if IS_USED(MODULE_NETDEV_IEEE802154_SUBMAC)
 #include "net/netdev/ieee802154_submac.h"
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ extern "C" {
 typedef struct {
 #if IS_USED(MODULE_NETDEV_IEEE802154_SUBMAC)
     netdev_ieee802154_submac_t netdev;      /**< netdev SubMAC descriptor */
-#elif !IS_USED(MODULE_IEEE802154_RADIO_HAL)
+#elif IS_USED(MODULE_NRF802154_NETDEV_LEGACY)
     netdev_ieee802154_t netdev;             /**< ieee802154 device descriptor */
 #endif
 } nrf802154_t;
diff --git a/cpu/nrf52/radio/nrf802154/Makefile b/cpu/nrf52/radio/nrf802154/Makefile
index b83537831a6a..5e95315e6425 100644
--- a/cpu/nrf52/radio/nrf802154/Makefile
+++ b/cpu/nrf52/radio/nrf802154/Makefile
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 MODULE = nrf802154
 
-ifneq (,$(filter ieee802154_radio_hal,$(USEMODULE)))
-  SRC += nrf802154_radio.c
-else
+# use netdev implementation when legacy is explicitly enabled
+ifneq (,$(filter nrf802154_netdev_legacy,$(USEMODULE)))
   SRC += nrf802154.c
+else
+  SRC += nrf802154_radio.c
 endif
 
 include $(RIOTBASE)/Makefile.base
diff --git a/doc/doxygen/src/getting-started.md b/doc/doxygen/src/getting-started.md
index 7fb91c7adff4..1077412eae86 100644
--- a/doc/doxygen/src/getting-started.md
+++ b/doc/doxygen/src/getting-started.md
@@ -153,6 +153,18 @@ For instructions on how to configure via `CFLAGS` check the
 @ref config "identified compile-time configurations". To learn how to use
 Kconfig in RIOT, please refer to the @ref kconfig-users-guide.
 
+Default configurations                                 {#default-configurations}
+----------------------
+When devices have a common access interface, having a default configuration to
+enable them across platforms, without having to explicitly specify which modules
+to include, comes in handy. For this, two pseudomodules are defined:
+
+- `saul_default`: will enable all the drivers of sensors and actuators that are
+present in the target platform.
+
+- `netdev_default`: will enable all the drivers of network devices
+present in the target platform.
+
 Use Docker to build RIOT                           {#docker}
 ========================
 [Docker](https://www.docker.com/) is a platform that allows packaging software into containers that can easily be run on any Linux that has Docker installed.
diff --git a/doc/doxygen/src/porting-boards.md b/doc/doxygen/src/porting-boards.md
index f5d025348f89..69a9f90f9075 100644
--- a/doc/doxygen/src/porting-boards.md
+++ b/doc/doxygen/src/porting-boards.md
@@ -105,6 +105,29 @@ endif
 the dependency block for your board *before* its dependencies pull in their own
 dependencies.
 
+#### Default configurations
+As explained in @ref default-configurations "Default Configurations", there are
+two pseudomodules that are used to indicate that certain drivers of devices
+present in the platform should be enabled. Each board (or CPU) has knowledge as
+to which drivers should be enabled in each case.
+
+The previous code snippet shows how a board which has a @ref drivers_sx127x
+device, pulls in its driver when the default network interfaces are required.
+
+When the pseudomodule `saul_default` is enabled, the board should pull in all
+the drivers of the devices it has which provide a @ref drivers_saul interface. This is
+usually done as following:
+
+```mk
+ifneq (,$(filter saul_default,$(USEMODULE)))
+  USEMODULE += saul_gpio
+  USEMODULE += apds9960
+  USEMODULE += bmp280_i2c
+  USEMODULE += lis3mdl
+  USEMODULE += sht3x
+endif
+```
+
 ### Makefile.features                                       {#makefile-features}
 
 This file defines all the features provided by the BOARD. These features
diff --git a/drivers/Makefile.dep b/drivers/Makefile.dep
index 65537ebd81d3..92e57c4494a2 100644
--- a/drivers/Makefile.dep
+++ b/drivers/Makefile.dep
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ ifneq (,$(filter periph_timer_periodic,$(USEMODULE)))
   FEATURES_REQUIRED += periph_timer
 endif
 
-ifneq (,$(filter netdev_%,$(USEMODULE)))
+ifneq (,$(filter-out netdev_default, $(filter netdev_%,$(USEMODULE))))
   USEMODULE += netdev
   # Don't register netdevs if there is only a single one of them
   ifeq (,$(filter gnrc_netif_single,$(USEMODULE)))
diff --git a/examples/gnrc_networking/Makefile b/examples/gnrc_networking/Makefile
index bf7693130549..aa06541d76b4 100644
--- a/examples/gnrc_networking/Makefile
+++ b/examples/gnrc_networking/Makefile
@@ -37,9 +37,6 @@ USEMODULE += netstats_rpl
 # USEMODULE += sock_dns              # include DNS client
 # USEMODULE += gnrc_ipv6_nib_dns     # include RDNSS option handling
 
-# Uncomment this to enable legacy support of netdev for IEEE 802.15.4 radios.
-# USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154_legacy
-
 # Comment this out to disable code in RIOT that does safety checking
 # which is not needed in a production environment but helps in the
 # development process:
diff --git a/makefiles/pseudomodules.inc.mk b/makefiles/pseudomodules.inc.mk
index a4acda742a5c..7359f6086257 100644
--- a/makefiles/pseudomodules.inc.mk
+++ b/makefiles/pseudomodules.inc.mk
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ PSEUDOMODULES += can_pm
 PSEUDOMODULES += can_raw
 PSEUDOMODULES += ccn-lite-utils
 PSEUDOMODULES += cc2538_rf_obs_sig
+PSEUDOMODULES += cc2538_rf_netdev_legacy
 PSEUDOMODULES += conn_can_isotp_multi
 PSEUDOMODULES += cord_ep_standalone
 PSEUDOMODULES += core_%
@@ -67,7 +68,6 @@ PSEUDOMODULES += gnrc_sock_check_reuse
 PSEUDOMODULES += gnrc_txtsnd
 PSEUDOMODULES += heap_cmd
 PSEUDOMODULES += i2c_scan
-PSEUDOMODULES += ieee802154_radio_hal
 PSEUDOMODULES += ieee802154_security
 PSEUDOMODULES += ieee802154_submac
 PSEUDOMODULES += ina3221_alerts
@@ -105,6 +105,7 @@ PSEUDOMODULES += newlib
 PSEUDOMODULES += newlib_gnu_source
 PSEUDOMODULES += newlib_nano
 PSEUDOMODULES += nrf24l01p_ng_diagnostics
+PSEUDOMODULES += nrf802154_netdev_legacy
 PSEUDOMODULES += openthread
 PSEUDOMODULES += picolibc
 PSEUDOMODULES += picolibc_stdout_buffered
diff --git a/pkg/lwip/Makefile.dep b/pkg/lwip/Makefile.dep
index 62d932f3b69e..2179cfbbc630 100644
--- a/pkg/lwip/Makefile.dep
+++ b/pkg/lwip/Makefile.dep
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ ifneq (,$(filter lwip_%,$(USEMODULE)))
   USEMODULE += lwip_contrib
   USEMODULE += lwip_core
   USEMODULE += lwip_netif
+  USEMODULE += netdev
   ifeq (,$(filter lwip_ipv4 lwip_ipv6,$(USEMODULE)))
     USEMODULE += lwip_ipv4
   endif
diff --git a/pkg/openthread/Makefile.dep b/pkg/openthread/Makefile.dep
index bff5bf798cef..1ddb74aef203 100644
--- a/pkg/openthread/Makefile.dep
+++ b/pkg/openthread/Makefile.dep
@@ -1,12 +1,9 @@
 USEMODULE += openthread_contrib
 
+USEMODULE += netdev
 USEMODULE += openthread_contrib_netdev
 USEMODULE += l2util
 USEMODULE += xtimer
 USEMODULE += event
 
-ifneq (,$(filter cc2538_rf nrf802154,$(USEMODULE)))
-  USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154_submac
-endif
-
 FEATURES_REQUIRED += cpp
diff --git a/pkg/openwsn/Makefile.dep b/pkg/openwsn/Makefile.dep
index 2ed2db6eaeb7..12f55e540e01 100644
--- a/pkg/openwsn/Makefile.dep
+++ b/pkg/openwsn/Makefile.dep
@@ -49,7 +49,9 @@ ifneq (,$(filter openwsn_crypto,$(USEMODULE)))
 endif
 
 ifneq (,$(filter openwsn_radio,$(USEMODULE)))
+  # enable default network devices on the platform
   USEMODULE += netdev_default
+  USEMODULE += netdev
   USEMODULE += luid
   ifneq (,$(filter cc2538_rf nrf802154,$(USEMODULE)))
     USEMODULE += openwsn_radio_hal
@@ -60,7 +62,6 @@ ifneq (,$(filter openwsn_radio,$(USEMODULE)))
 endif
 
 ifneq (,$(filter openwsn_radio_hal,$(USEMODULE)))
-  USEMODULE += ieee802154_radio_hal
   # Used here only for dependency resolution
   DISABLE_MODULE += auto_init_gnrc_netif
 endif
diff --git a/sys/Makefile.dep b/sys/Makefile.dep
index 22c395fba7a3..a937ede72334 100644
--- a/sys/Makefile.dep
+++ b/sys/Makefile.dep
@@ -142,12 +142,10 @@ ifneq (,$(filter sntp,$(USEMODULE)))
   USEMODULE += xtimer
 endif
 
-ifneq (,$(filter ieee802154_radio_hal,$(USEMODULE)))
-  USEMODULE += ieee802154
-endif
-
 ifneq (,$(filter gnrc_netdev_default,$(USEMODULE)))
+  # enable default network devices on the platform
   USEMODULE += netdev_default
+  USEMODULE += netdev
   USEMODULE += gnrc_netif
 endif
 
@@ -157,7 +155,8 @@ ifneq (,$(filter netdev_ieee802154,$(USEMODULE)))
 endif
 
 ifneq (,$(filter netdev_ieee802154_submac,$(USEMODULE)))
-  USEMODULE += ieee802154_radio_hal
+  USEMODULE += netdev_ieee802154
+  USEMODULE += ieee802154
   USEMODULE += ieee802154_submac
 endif
 
diff --git a/tests/ieee802154_hal/Makefile b/tests/ieee802154_hal/Makefile
index a227353d6789..434bb3fe8b14 100644
--- a/tests/ieee802154_hal/Makefile
+++ b/tests/ieee802154_hal/Makefile
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ USEMODULE += ps
 USEMODULE += event_thread_highest
 USEMODULE += event_callback
 USEMODULE += xtimer
-USEMODULE += ieee802154_radio_hal
 USEMODULE += netdev_default
 
 CFLAGS += -DEVENT_THREAD_HIGHEST_STACKSIZE=1024
diff --git a/tests/netstats_neighbor/Makefile b/tests/netstats_neighbor/Makefile
index 9d9283b779ab..8b194abefc4b 100644
--- a/tests/netstats_neighbor/Makefile
+++ b/tests/netstats_neighbor/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-USEMODULE = netdev_default
+USEMODULE = gnrc_netdev_default
 
 USEMODULE += netstats_neighbor_etx
 USEMODULE += netstats_neighbor_count