After facing a similar issue with Expo, I decided to take a different approach. I embarked on creating a project using the Bare workflow in Expo.
Thanks to this method, I was still able to utilize all of Expo's features such as running the app using a bar code scanner.
This new workflow resulted in the creation of separate Android and iOS folders, providing me with complete control over the project.
When it came time to build the APK and IPA, I followed the same process as I would using react-native-cli. The end result? The APK shrunk from 50 MB to 18 MB, and the IPA decreased from 190 MB to just 5 MB.
Furthermore, by adopting the bare workflow, I could also incorporate the react-native-cli node module into my project.
It's clear that building an IPA and APK using expo build:platform consistently leads to larger build sizes.