OK, we get it. Makers of fitness trackers now recognize that, for the most part, the majority of products in this category are clunky. No matter how hard the company tries to disguise wearable tech, you can almost always tell when a person is counting their daily steps. The plastic wristbands are never subtle.

While previous iterations of these handy little trackers improved the category with slimmer and smarter devices, we're finally moving into stage two of activity monitoring: fashionable options you'd actually want to wear.

Category leader Fitbit introduced on Tuesday the Fitbit Alta, a $129.95 fitness tracker aimed (mostly) at females. The device comes with a colored "tap" display, which is different from a touch display like on most smartphones and has a bit of a learning curve. More on that later.

Image: Mashable, Elizabeth Pierson

The Fitbit Alta is significantly sleeker than previous models and is intended to hug smaller wrists more like jewelry than a gadget. With the ability to swap out bands and transform the device from something you'd wear to the gym to one you'd leave on for a night out, the Fitbit Alta is not only the most customizable option in the company's lineup, it's the most fashion-forward fitness tracker we've seen to date.

While you can purchase the Fitbit Alta for $129.95 with a black, blue or plum plastic band (you can buy another color for $29.95 each), the real stunners are the leather bands (gray, blush pink and camel; $59.95) and the stainless steel link band ($99.95). Fitbit told Mashable a gold bangle option are coming soon.

Swapping bands is relatively easy to do; you’ll need to release it from the back side and then snap in two pieces (one on each side) to lock it in. It takes a few seconds to get the hang of it, but once you've tried it a few times, it's an easy task. The same goes for clasping the plastic bands (it needs a little force to snap it in place), but this extra effort is intended to make sure it doesn't fly off your wrist during a workout.

What does it do?

Image: Mashable, Elizabeth Pierson

Beyond style versatility, the device has a lot of the same features you'd expect from other Fitbits: activity tracking, automatic sleep monitoring, silent alarms and a five-day battery life.

But the Fitbit Alta offers more curated experience to motivate people to reach their fitness goals, rather than sending too many smartwatch-like notifications to its users (you won’t be getting Twitter updates here). Instead, it aims to give you whatever you need — mostly in the form of incoming calls, text alerts and calendar updates — so phones can stay tucked away.

It also automatically tracks workouts with the company’s built-in SmartTrack feature, which recognizes and records activities such biking, hiking, running and sports (basketball, soccer and tennis). There's no need to start and stop a workout, and the same goes for sleep tracking (you don't need to tell the device you're about to turn in for the night).

Fitbit Alta also encourages users to stay active every hour; before hitting the 60-minute mark, it pushes out a notification to get up and move, and will cheer you on as do so.

Now, let's get back to the tap display. The colored, crisp screen allows you to tap through for stats, smart notifications and the motivating nudges to keep moving. But the tapping aspect takes a little getting used to at first. You'll instinctively want to use the screen like a touchscreen, swiping one stat screen from another, but that won't work since the only actual sensor is likely the accelerometer, reacting only to the vibration of your taping, not swiping. That doesn't make the Alta the most intuitive device, but Fitbit likely took this approach to keep down costs.

The appeal

Image: Mashable, Elizabeth Pierson

The Fitbit Alta has more mass appeal than the recently announced Blaze, a $199.95 fitness watch that was met with mixed reaction. In fact, the company's stock took a 18% hit after the announcement.

While that device looked a bit like the Apple Watch — albeit a clunkier version, with less functionality — it set out to be a fitness watch with some smartwatch capabilities: There's a touchscreen for calls and alerts, but with no third-party apps, notifications for sites like Twitter and custom alerts, it falls short of what the Apple Watch can do at only $50 more.

The Fitbit Alta is meant to cater to more casual fitness enthusiasts among us (in contrast, the Blaze targets the die-hard runners and marathon trainers). Considering how common it is now to see the person sitting next to you at work wearing a Fitbit, the Alta has far more potential than perhaps any other recent product the company has launched to really go after its general female fanbase.

Fitbit will also be announcing more fashion partnerships "soon," including an enhanced deal with Tory Burch. Fibit was one of the first wearable companies to think about style when it teamed up with Tory Burch in 2014 for an accessory line.

A company spokesperson also told Mashable it is working on more female-centric bands with a tapered look; one that scoops in a bit around smaller wrists. While Fitbit didn't announce a timeline for this yet, it’s scheduled to debut this year.

The Fitbit Alta, which is now available for pre-sale, will officially launch in North America in March and worldwide in April.

Bonus: Under Armour’s Gemini 2 sneakers are fitness trackers for your feet