October has blossomed into one of the best months to buy headphones and earbuds, with retailers priming the pump for a holiday season gift rush and brands softening prices as new models arrive on shelves.
If you’ve got noise-canceling over-ears or compact in-ears from Apple, Sony, Bose, Beats, Samsung and others in your crosshairs, this is the stretch when all-time lows and near-lows tend to become common.
At all the big retailers, we’re now finding top-tier pairs hitting some truly appealing numbers: Apple AirPods Pro 2 frequently land in the high-$160s, Sony’s WH-1000XM4 over-ears have returned to around $200 or so, and value leaders like Anker’s Soundcore Space A40 regularly dip well below $60. Prices do change fast, but the pattern remains: October deals are likely to mimic the best prices outside of a handful of doorbusters reserved for Black Friday.
Best Premium Earbud Deals Available in October
The USB-C case for AirPods Pro 2 is the big one for iPhone users. Other features, such as the H2-based Adaptive Audio and Transparency modes, are still class-leading beyond the tight Apple integration (Find My, for example, or seamless device switching). IP54 dust and water resistance and battery life that’s 6–7 hours standalone mean you can comfortably take them out as your daily drivers. At big retailers, they have been dropping in October to the high-$160s — historically one of their best public prices.
Sony’s WF-1000XM5 retains the crown for best Android-friendly ANC earbuds, boasting fantastic low-frequency noise cancellation, custom EQ in the Headphones app and above-average call performance. Those often drop well under $250 this month, and if you care more about that tuning flexibility and that rich, non-fatiguing sound — yeah, they’re a smart get at that level. Yeah, ultimately you’re at the mercy of independent ratings from sites like RTINGS and SoundGuys — which always place Sony ANC in the top tier.
That’s also not the case on Galaxy phones, which automatically default to the AAC codec (you have to change it to SBC or BT if you’re streaming from an iOS device) or the comfortable controls offered by Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app. We’ve seen them drop to the mid-$180s here and there, which is a sweet spot for commuters who want capable ANC and polished call quality without paying top-of-market money.
Standout Over-Ear Headphone Deals Worth Checking
The WH-1000XM4 from Sony are still a rock-solid buy at around $198 on sale. Their ANC is still great, battery life extends past 30 hours and multipoint keeps workdays painless. Otherwise, if you’d prefer the more stylish look and a minor upgrade in voice pickup of the WH-1000XM5, deal prices we see in October often dip into the low to mid-$300s.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones continue to impress road warriors for their best-in-class noise cancellation and impressive spatial audio features. As lame as MSRP is, October discounts have been putting them closer to the $380–$400 lane and that’s where they begin to feel competitive. Testing groups of consumers consistently say that Bose manages cabin rumble better than most.
Beats Studio Pro drift into tempting territory around $250. You receive strong Apple and Android compatibility, USB-C audio, as well as a punchy, pop-friendly signature. If you’re keen on getting Apple’s AirPods Max, wait for pricing in the high $400s (they go on sale less frequently, although October does see occasional drops).
Budget Picks That Are Worth Adding to Your Cart
Among sub-$60 earbuds, Anker’s Soundcore Space A40 are perennial deal sweethearts. They offer surprisingly effective active noise canceling (ANC), a comfortable fit, an app with EQ and long battery life with the case. If you prefer the soft embrace of over-ears, Soundcore Q20i from Anker and JBL’s Tune 770NC both tend to appear for around $40–$90 this month, with up to 30–50 hours of playback time and sufficient isolation for most office or dorm room environments.
Shoppers looking to dabble with audiophile-leaning tuning without the hefty investment will want to keep an eye on Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4 and Momentum 4 over-ears. Both families get large October price cuts and Sennheiser’s neutral-tilted presentation can offer a welcome diversion from overly bass-heavy defaults.
How To Know When You’re Getting A Real Discount
Look at price history before you click buy. And sales tools and trackers like Keepa and CamelCamelCamel will show whether a “$100 off” banner is genuinely amazing or just the status quo. Watch for older model numbers being positioned on promotion at “was” prices that are based off their launch MSRP — it’s very prevalent in the time frame leading into the holidays.
Match features to your use. For iPhone, those will be AAC-centric earbuds (AirPods Pro 2 are a safe bet); on Android, look for LDAC or aptX Adaptive if you care about higher-bitrate wireless playback. Multipoint Bluetooth is a must-have for the work-from-home era. If you’re a commuter or air traveler, hit those active noise-cancellation (ANC) fundamentals and consider whether the transparency mode is more than just window dressing. Battery life claims can be optimistic; it’s good to check third-party figures from the likes of Wirecutter and RTINGS, if such measurements are available.
Lastly, be sure to read the fine print: Low prices on some units may indicate a refurbished or open-box model. Those can be great values if they come with a strong warranty, but they’re not really apples-to-apples versus new inventory.
Why Prices for October Headphones Are So Hot
There are two forces that tend to converge nowadays: model refreshes and demand shaping. As brands release new flagships, the top sets from last year trickle down in price — which is how Sony’s WH-1000XM4 managed to still hit that sub-$200 mark. In the meantime, retailers pump early-season deals to pull holiday spending forward. Circana market analysts have observed for a while that audio deals condense in Q4, and the trend remains — October frequently produces prices that come within reach of Black Friday without the rush.
One more turn of the screw this year: wider-reaching adoption of Bluetooth LE Audio and the LC3 codec on newer phones and earbuds has coaxed some brands into discounting old AAC/aptX-centric stock in time to capitalize. You can check to see if your iDevice supports this ahead of time (and while you’re at it, make sure your next pair does too) if future-proofing is part of your shopping strategy.
Bottom line: If the model you want hits what historically has been its lowest price (or pretty close to it) in October, your wallet won’t likely benefit much more by holding out until after the big game, and there may not be as many choices of colors or stock.
Snag the correct fit, the right feature set and a price that is consistent with past lows, and you’ll have locked in the kind of deal even Black Friday can’t beat meaningfully.
