U2's surprise free album on iTunes was ridiculed by some iPhone users for forcing its way onto their devices this week, but U2 is having the last laugh as the Apple stunt for the band's new Songs of Innocence inspired fans to purchase other U2 titles on iTunes.

At one point Thursday afternoon, 26 U2 titles charted simultaneously on iTunes top 200 albums rankings, Apple and Interscope Records representatives confirmed to Mashable on Friday. Meanwhile, U218 Singles landed in the top 10 in 46 countries.

U2 had zero albums on the iTunes chart the day before Tuesday's Apple event.

"Obviously this demonstrates the high level of engagement in the aftermath of the release — it's an unprecedented feat," Interscope's Dennis Dennehy told Mashable, crediting Apple's major marketing push at Tuesday's iPhone 6 event and U2's inherent global reach as a veteran rock band. "Besides giving a new U2 album as a gift to iTunes store customers, the initiative with iTunes clearly encouraged discovery for new fans and a rediscovery for existing ones."

Bono and the band joined Apple CEO Tim Cook onstage in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday to announce the new album and its unconventional release strategy. The album, U2's first studio release in five years, became available that day on iTunes, iTunes Radio and Beats Music, with Apple securing exclusivity until Oct. 13.

After that, iTunes users started exploring U2's catalog and buying the band's albums, compilations and live versions. As of Friday evening, 18 titles were still in the top 200.

"It’s disruptive, and it has never been done before," U2's manager Guy Oseary told Mashable about the album release. "This will probably be dissected for many years to come. ... I’m just happy that a lot more people are listening to this album than they would have."

Oseary added that it's too early to know download figures, though Recode is reporting 2 million downloads.

"From what I'm hearing, they're very promising," he said. "But it's hard to tell because somebody new may listen to it in a month. Somebody new may listen to it in a year."

A revamped Songs of Innocence, with four additional songs and several acoustic renditions, will go on sale at other retailers starting Oct. 14. Upon that release, Billboard will start calculating its sales, as it won't take into account Apple's release.

NOTE: A Q&A with U2's manager Oseary is scheduled to publish on Mashable on Sunday.