There are always good TV deals throughout the year if you look hard enough, but everyone knows that the absolute best time of year to upgrade your TV is around Black Friday. There will be so many TV deals crawling out of the woodwork during the latter half of November that you won’t need to do any heavy lifting to find the deal you want. This year I expect the status quo to remain the same. The landscape is a bit different – 65″ is the new 55″ and OLED is actually affordable – but make no mistake that there will be some excellent price drops worth jumping on in the next few weeks.
Size Matters, Get the Biggest TV You Can Afford
This year, shoppers are trending towards bigger TVs. Everyone who’s purchased a 55″ TV in the past is probably now looking to upgrade to a 65″ TV, and even 77″ TVs are becoming increasingly more common. Manufacturers are aware of this trend and I expect the biggest price drops to happen in the 60″ to 77″ size range.
If you’re looking to upgrade, my advice is to get the biggest TV that can still fit in your intended space and is within your budget. One of the main reasons why people choose to upgrade is to get a bigger TV, and a larger TV will be more future-proof down the road. TV technology moves at a relatively slow pace and chances are if you’re happy with the image quality of your TV right now, you’ll probably also be fine with it for the long haul. But size is a different matter.
If You’re Looking for a High-end TV, Go With OLED
Without a doubt OLED technology offers the best image quality you can find in a consumer TV. Compared to any other type of TV, OLED TVs boast superior image quality thanks to their near-infinite black levels, near-infinite contrast ratio, and near-instantaneous response times. This is easily the best type of TV for streaming 4K HDR content in its intended glory. OLED TVs have also been our favorite TVs for console gaming because nearly all of them feature a native 120Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 inputs for running PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X games in 4K at up to 120fps.
OLED TV prices have dropped significantly in 2025 and I expect to see the lowest prices of the year during Black Friday. That means brand-name OLED TVs from LG, Samsung, and Sony will probably drop to as low as $1,199.99 (or less) for a 65″ model and $1,799.99 (or less) for a 77″ model. Higher end models with advanced features like LG’s Evo or Samsung’s quantum dot technology will very likely be heavily discounted as well.
If You’re on a Budget, Consider Hisense or TCL
If you’re looking for a 65″ or 77″ TV priced under $1,000, I would strongly recommend looking at more value-conscious brands like Hisense and TCL. Within the budget to mid-range lineups, Hisense and TCL TVs are every bit as good as – and in many cases better – than a similarly priced Samsung, Sony, or LG TV. During Black Friday, a 65″ Hisense or TCL 4K TV with a quantum dot mini-LED panel and 120Hz refresh rate (perfect for 4K HDR streaming or playing PlayStation 5 games) might drop to as low as $499.99. A 75″ variant could drop to $699.99. Prices we haven’t seen earlier this year.
Gamers Should Look for TVs With These Features
If you have a current generation console like a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll want to make sure that your new TV has both a native 120Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 inputs. These are necessary to run games in 4K at up to 120fps. Even in 2025, there are quite a few budget TVs that don’t have these features, so make sure you do your due research. If you’re a gamer, it is definitely worth it to splurge a little more on a TV that can run your games to their fullest potential.
Despite being a current generation console, the Nintendo Switch 2 has lax TV requirements compared to the PS5 or Xbox Series X. When the Switch is connected to its dock and a television, it is only capable of outputting a 4K resolution signal at up to 60 frames per second. It can go up to 120fps if the resolution drops to 1080p, but the data rate required for both these options is pretty much the same, and you would much rather play any game in 4K.
Manufacturers Will be Hosting Their Own Black Friday Sales
Common sense would dictate that the first sites you would check for Black Friday TV deals would be Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target. That hasn’t changed, however you should also check in on Black Friday deals hosted on manufacturer sites like LG.com and Samsung.com. For the past few years, these storefronts have been offering the same deals as the reseller sites, but with extra incentives such as a free soundbar or wall mount with purchase, free white glove delivery, and bonus coupon codes (often simply by leaving your items in your shopping cart for a little while). The deal gets even better if you are eligible for an EPP (employer) or EDU (teacher/student) discount, which is usually exclusive to the manufacturer’s storefront. In the end, these deals might actually be much, much better than the “standard” Black Friday deals you might find anywhere else.
Scams Will Be Running Rampant
Black Friday is the one time of year where a deal that might normally be too good to be true actually isn’t. Scammers are aware of this and there will be plenty of traps you’ll need to avoid. To be safe, make sure you always buy from an authorized reseller for that particular brand of TV. “Buying from Amazon” simply isn’t good enough; there are plenty of marketplace resellers that aren’t trustworthy. You’ll want to confirm that the item is either “sold and shipped by Amazon” or from a third party reseller that you recognize. The same is true for other sites like Walmart, Best Buy, and especially eBay. Some common authorized resellers that you might run into are Buydig, Electronic Express, Walt’s TVs, B&H Photo, Beach Camera, and more. These are reputable storefronts with established histories and I would recommend them.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
2025-11-12 22:40:00
