Oppo says it has a new technology that can charge a smartphone in just 15 minutes flat.

The Chinese firm unveiled the prototype, dubbed the Super VOOC Flash Charge, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

Described as the 'world's fastest charger', the device is an improvement on its VOOC Flash Charge technology and is designed to be used with Oppo's 2500mAh battery.

Oppo says it has a new technology that can charge a smartphone in just 15 minutes. The Chinese firm unveiled the prototype, named the Super VOOC Flash Charge, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. It's an improvement on its VOOC Flash Charge technology and is designed to be used with 2500mAh battery

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Charging using the new system can be done using either MicroUSB and USB Type-C.

The prototype is a huge development on current technology. An iPhone 6s, for instance, takes more than two hours to fully charge using Apple's standard charger.

Oppo said its technology is based on proprietary technology, where the battery, hardware, and control software work together to optimise performance.

It uses a low-voltage pulse charging algorithm and a custom 'super' 2,500mAh battery to make sure that such rapid charging is safe for consumers.

Oppo added that the feature won't work with a competitor's fast charger.

It claims it will revert to regular slow charging 'due to the temperature spikes caused by quick charging and screen brightening simultaneously.'

Oppo said the system will be featured on its upcoming phone, but no other details have yet been revealed.

The company currently has 18 patents pending for the technology.

Beyond China few may have heard of Oppo, but these local handset vendors are rising up the rankings in the world's largest smartphone market.

'[Oppo has] already overtaken Samsung in China, and is working to chase down the big three of Huawei, Xiaomi and Apple in 2016,' said Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston.

Oppo sold 10.8 million smartphones, giving it a nine per cent market share and a top-5 ranking, in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Strategy Analytics.

Its R7 smartphone, priced at 1,999 yuan ($304), touts itself as a 'selfie expert', with a bigger screen than the iPhone 6S and competitive camera resolution.

The latest charging technology from Oppo follows the unveiling of new miniature pocket gadget to be the world's fastest charger, going from flat to full in just five minutes.

Oppo sold 10.8 million smartphones, giving it a nine per cent market share and a top-5 ranking, in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Strategy Analytics. Its R7 smartphone (pictured), priced at 1,999 yuan ($304), touts itself as a 'selfie expert', with a bigger screen than the iPhone 6S and competitive camera resolution

It follows the unveiling of new miniature pocket gadget to be the world's fastest charger, going from flat to full in just five minutes. According to its makers, the ASAP Dash charges 16 times faster than standard portable chargers and boasts a battery life that lasts up to four times longer

According to its makers, the ASAP Dash charges 16 times faster than standard portable chargers and boasts a battery life that lasts up to four times longer

The superfast charger was invented by Vinson Leow and his colleagues in Sydney.

Other rapid charge chargers have a capacity of less than 2,000 mAh.

By comparison, ASAP Dash stores 5,000mAh, which means one charge of the device can keep a phone going for more than 48 hours.

'The language used warrants a little explaining,' Joe Levi, senior editor of Pocketnow, a mobile technology specialist site, told MailOnline.

'You can charge the portable battery with enough energy to charge your iPhone 5 in only five minutes - or three charges in 15 minutes.

'That's impressive - but it's still not going to charge your iPhone any faster than plugging it into the wall.'

This means the ASAP Dash itself can be charged rapidly, but it still take your phone the same amount of time to fully charge.