OLED TV price check, October 2026: which sale prices passed the history test
Sale banners say "record low". Price history says something more specific. I ran the October 5 OLED deals through a simple three-month test and say which passed.
Research-based. I haven’t used or tested these products myself. How I appraise
These prices were checked up to Oct 5, 2026 and may have changed. Check the retailer before you buy.
The short appraisal
- Passes the history test: Samsung 65-inch S85H OLED at $1,297.99, the lowest Amazon has charged in about six months of tracking.
- Strong, but short history: Sony BRAVIA 6 65-inch OLED at $1,298. That’s a record low, but its price history only goes back about a month.
- Best Buy’s headline: LG C6 65-inch at $1,499.99, down from $2,699.99, in the Techtober sale, per TechRadar on Oct 5 (not re-verified on Oct 7).
- Fails the test: Sony BRAVIA XR8B 77-inch at $1,998. Amazon sold it for $1,798 on February 2.
- Big wall: LG 83-inch C6 at $3,499.99, $203.27 under Amazon’s June 23 price.
Who should skip
- The Sony BRAVIA XR8B 77-inch at $1,998. Amazon sold it for $1,798 on February 2.
- Any TV deal judged only against its list price.
- Buying in October at all, if you can wait. NBC Select puts TVs on its skip list, and Black Friday is November 27.
Where to buy
- Roku 65″ Pro Series OLED
Disclosure: links marked “Paid link” earn me a commission if you buy, at no cost to you. Links marked “No commission” earn me nothing. Details
Amazon prices are from Popular Science’s October 5 roundup, which drew on CamelCamelCamel tracking; every figure there held when re-read on October 7. LG prices are Best Buy’s Techtober sale, via TechRadar on October 5; TechRadar and Best Buy’s product pages could not be re-read.
NBC Select’s October Prime Day guide puts TVs on its skip list and says to wait for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (NBC Select). Black Friday this year is November 27 (Popular Science).
That doesn’t mean every October TV deal is bad. It means you need a test.
The test: three months, and a real drop
I borrow NBC Select’s standard because it’s simple and strict: a deal only counts as good if the item is at its lowest price in at least three months and has recently dropped in price (NBC Select). “Was $1,999.99” doesn’t count. List prices are set by the seller.
Amazon itself now shows up to 365 days of pricing history through a “Price History” option on product pages (Amazon), and trackers like CamelCamelCamel do the same. Use them.
Amazon’s OLED deals, run through the test
All prices below are from Popular Science’s buy-or-wait roundup published the evening of October 5, which drew on CamelCamelCamel tracking (Popular Science).
| TV | Price | List price | History verdict | My call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 65” S85H OLED (2026) | $1,297.99 | $1,597.99 | Lowest in about 6 months of tracking | Passes |
| Sony 65” BRAVIA 6 OLED (K-65A60) | $1,298 | $1,999.99 | Lowest recorded, but only about 1 month of history | Promising, unproven |
| LG 83” OLED evo C6 (2026) | $3,499.99 | $5,299.99 | $203.27 below Amazon’s June 23 price | Passes |
| Roku 65” Pro Series OLED (2026) | $799.99 (Prime) | $1,199.99 | About 1 month of history | Promising, unproven |
| Sony 77” BRAVIA XR8B OLED | $1,998 | $2,499.99 | Sold for $1,798 on Feb 2 | Fails |
A few observations:
- The Samsung S85H and Sony BRAVIA 6 are one cent apart. Popular Science suggests comparing them side by side, and I agree. At this point the choice is about the smart-TV platform you prefer (Samsung’s own smart-TV software against Google TV on the Sony), not price.
- The Roku Pro Series is the cheapest OLED in the roundup at $799.99, but the deal required Prime when checked, and its short price history means “lowest ever” covers only a month.
- The XR8B is the reminder that a big “was” price can sit on top of a worse deal than one you missed in February.
Best Buy Techtober: the LG deals
Best Buy’s Techtober sale overlaps with Prime Big Deal Days. TechRadar’s roundup, published October 5, lists the prices below (TechRadar). On October 7 TechRadar’s page and Best Buy’s product pages both blocked my reader, so these three figures are my October 5 reading and were not re-verified:
- LG C6 65-inch OLED: $1,499.99 (was $2,699.99). TechRadar says the C6 is its expert’s current pick for the best TV you can buy, with more accurate, brighter colours than the C5 and LG’s Alpha 11 AI processor.
- LG G6 77-inch OLED: $3,699.99 (was $4,499.99). LG’s flagship, with a Primary RGB Tandem 2.0 OLED panel, per TechRadar’s review.
- Samsung R85H 75-inch Micro RGB: $1,799.99 (was $2,799.99). TechRadar calls it the largest discount yet on that model. It isn’t an OLED.
- TCL QM6K 55-inch mini-LED: $499.99 (was $799.99), the budget alternative if OLED isn’t in the budget.
TechRadar’s roundup doesn’t give price history for these, so I can’t run the three-month test on them. Before you buy the LG C6 at $1,499.99, compare it with the 65-inch Sony and Samsung OLEDs at about $1,298 on Amazon. That’s a $200 gap, and you should know what it buys you.
Before you click buy: a 60-second checklist
- Confirm the exact model number. Popular Science lists the Sony as K-65A60 and the XR8B as K-77XR8B. Similar names hide different panels and different years.
- Check whether the price needs Prime. Popular Science noted that some TV deals (the Hisense, Amazon Ember and Roku Pro Series sets) carried Amazon’s Prime-only badge when it checked on October 5, while the Sony, Samsung and LG deals didn’t.
- Look at the deal’s own countdown. Each early deal has its own end time on the listing. Prime Big Deal Days itself was scheduled to end at 11 PT on October 7.
- Price the sound. OLED TVs are thin, and their speakers often show it. Popular Science’s roundup also has Sony soundbars on sale, such as the BRAVIA Theater Bar 6 at $448, which matches its June 23 price. Budget for one if you care about dialogue.
- Measure the wall, not just the room. Going from 65 to 77 or 83 inches changes viewing distance, mounting and, as the prices above show, the budget by thousands.
OLED or mini-LED?
If you watch in a bright room during the day, a bright mini-LED such as the TCL QM6K or Hisense’s E7 and U7 sets in the Amazon sale may suit you better than an OLED at the same size. If you watch films at night and care about black levels and contrast, OLED is the reason these prices are worth watching. Popular Science notes that the Sony BRAVIA 3 II 85-inch, an LED set, costs the same $1,298 as the 65-inch BRAVIA 6 OLED. That’s the clearest illustration of the trade-off: size, or contrast.
Timing
- Prime Big Deal Days was scheduled to end at 11 PT on Wednesday, October 7 (2 ET on October 8) (Popular Science). Individual early deals carry their own countdowns.
- Popular Science notes that some deals need Prime and some don’t. When it checked on October 5, the Sony, Samsung and LG OLED deals were not marked as Prime-exclusive.
- Amazon says its “Today’s Big Deals” include up to $2,000 off a big-screen Sony TV among its drops (Amazon), with new drops at midnight, 8am and 1pm PDT.
The saraf’s verdict
If you were going to buy a 65-inch OLED this season anyway, the Samsung S85H at $1,297.99 is the deal with the strongest evidence behind it. The Sony BRAVIA 6 at the same money is just as tempting, but has less history. The LG C6 at Best Buy is a good price on a well-reviewed TV, and still $200 more. If you’re not in a hurry, NBC Select’s advice stands: Black Friday on November 27 is the traditional TV sale, and these prices give you a baseline to judge it against.