diff --git a/docs/retroarch.1 b/docs/retroarch.1
index 2be97c71f7..4f7661c38d 100644
--- a/docs/retroarch.1
+++ b/docs/retroarch.1
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ When loading a rom from stdin, the path must be a full path, however.
 If a config cannot be found when using directory path, the default config path will be used instead.
 
 .IP
-Unix-like systems will look in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/retroarch/retroarch.cfg first. Then it will try $HOME/.retroarch.cfg. Last, it will try /etc/retroarch.cfg. If no configuration is found, default settings will be assumed. A configuration file does not need to define every possible option, only those that should be overridden.
+Unix-like systems will look in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/retroarch/retroarch.cfg first. If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not defined, it is assumed to be $HOME/.config as per specification. Then it will try $HOME/.retroarch.cfg. Last, it will try /etc/retroarch.cfg. If no configuration is found, default settings will be assumed. A configuration file does not need to define every possible option, only those that should be overridden.
 
 .IP
 Windows will look in retroarch.cfg in same folder where retroarch.exe resides.
diff --git a/retroarch.c b/retroarch.c
index 7269d089f9..dc3345e5d2 100644
--- a/retroarch.c
+++ b/retroarch.c
@@ -569,10 +569,8 @@ static int16_t input_state(unsigned port, unsigned device, unsigned index, unsig
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
 #define RARCH_DEFAULT_CONF_PATH_STR "\n\t\tDefaults to retroarch.cfg in same directory as retroarch.exe."
-#elif defined(__APPLE__)
-#define RARCH_DEFAULT_CONF_PATH_STR " Defaults to $HOME/.retroarch.cfg."
 #else
-#define RARCH_DEFAULT_CONF_PATH_STR " Defaults to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/retroarch/retroarch.cfg,\n\t\tor $HOME/.retroarch.cfg, if $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not defined."
+#define RARCH_DEFAULT_CONF_PATH_STR "\n\t\tBy default looks for config in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/retroarch/retroarch.cfg,\n\t\t$HOME/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg,\n\t\tand $HOME/.retroarch.cfg."
 #endif
 
 #include "config.features.h"
diff --git a/settings.c b/settings.c
index 4e6576e845..7344eba6d8 100644
--- a/settings.c
+++ b/settings.c
@@ -329,36 +329,37 @@ static config_file_t *open_default_config_file(void)
          conf = config_file_new(conf_path);
       }
    }
-#elif defined(__APPLE__)
-   char conf_path[PATH_MAX];
-   const char *home = getenv("HOME");
-   if (home)
-   {
-      snprintf(conf_path, sizeof(conf_path), "%s/.retroarch.cfg", home);
-      conf = config_file_new(conf_path);
-   }
-   if (!conf)
-      conf = config_file_new("/etc/retroarch.cfg");
 #elif !defined(__CELLOS_LV2__) && !defined(_XBOX)
    char conf_path[PATH_MAX];
-   const char *xdg = getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME");
-   if (!xdg)
-      RARCH_WARN("XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not defined. Will look for config in $HOME/.retroarch.cfg ...\n");
-
+   const char *xdg  = getenv("XDG_CONFIG_HOME");
    const char *home = getenv("HOME");
+
+   // XDG_CONFIG_HOME falls back to $HOME/.config.
    if (xdg)
-   {
       snprintf(conf_path, sizeof(conf_path), "%s/retroarch/retroarch.cfg", xdg);
+   else if (home)
+      snprintf(conf_path, sizeof(conf_path), "%s/.config/retroarch/retroarch.cfg", home);
+
+   if (xdg || home)
+   {
+      RARCH_LOG("Looking for config in: \"%s\".\n", conf_path);
       conf = config_file_new(conf_path);
    }
-   else if (home)
+
+   // Fallback to $HOME/.retroarch.cfg.
+   if (!conf && home)
    {
       snprintf(conf_path, sizeof(conf_path), "%s/.retroarch.cfg", home);
+      RARCH_LOG("Looking for config in: \"%s\".\n", conf_path);
       conf = config_file_new(conf_path);
    }
-   // Try this as a last chance...
+
+   // Try this as a last chance ...
    if (!conf)
+   {
       conf = config_file_new("/etc/retroarch.cfg");
+      RARCH_LOG("Looking for config in: \"/etc/retroarch.cfg\".\n");
+   }
 #endif
 
    return conf;