INDEPENDENT PRODUCT LAB
Everyday tools and familiar systems still leave room for a second look. Sons Labo is an independent product lab that traces why things took their current form, questions them in light of the present, and turns the new perspectives it finds into products of its own.
The name “Sons” reflects our commitment to nurture each product with the same care we would give our own sons, and to look after its future.
Release is a birth, not a completion. We learn from the people who use each Sons Labo product and keep updating it, so that each one grows into its role.
GOOGLE PLAY
IC残高
A Japanese-language Android app that shows the balance and last 20 transactions of transit IC cards such as Suica, PASMO, ICOCA, and PiTaPa when you hold a card to the back of your phone. Cards you read are saved on your device, and you can name them to check back later. It has no permission to connect to the internet, never writes to cards, and has no ads or sign-up. Available on Google Play in Japan only.
NOTE.THEONEHUB.APP
A note app for writing without stopping: no folders or file names, just open it and write on a single page. Available for macOS and Android. Notes are end-to-end encrypted on your device before syncing, so not even the operator can read them. No account required.
KEYBOARD.THEONEHUB.APP
An Android keyboard that makes AI chats, AI agents, and terminals easier to use. It adds Control, Option, Command, Esc, Tab, and arrow keys, plus one-tap slash commands, trackpad control, and Japanese input via Mozc. It has no permission to connect to the internet.
Not every inquiry becomes a product. Even so, we begin by asking questions and testing what we find.
We keep a record of what we learn and where we hesitate: the theory and history behind products, the hypotheses we test, and the ideas we choose not to pursue. Lab Notes document the inquiry and judgment that finished products alone cannot show.
Every familiar tool carries decisions made for another time: a particular technology, social context, habit, or limitation.
We begin by understanding why those decisions once made sense. Then we ask what has changed, what still matters, and what could work differently now.
The result is not novelty for its own sake. It is a new perspective made useful — and cared for long after launch.
New does not have to start from nothing.
From question to product, every follows the same five stages.
Notice a quiet friction in something familiar.
Study the theory, history, context, and behavior behind it.
Separate the assumptions that still matter from those that no longer do.
Turn a new point of view into a product people can actually use.
Learn from real use and keep improving after launch.
We take responsibility for what comes after launch. Shipping is not the end of our work.
We listen to how a product is used, refine its experience, review its security and privacy, and communicate meaningful changes. If a product reaches the end of its useful life, we handle that ending with the same care: clear notice, reasonable time, and responsible data transition.
The name “Sons” reflects our commitment to nurture each product with the same care we would give our own sons, and to look after its future.
