Expo assets not bundled with app

I have built and released a trail app that needs to work offline as it will be used in network blackspots. Some trail points have associated music files. Expo requires that these assets be downloaded every time the app is used. The app is in the App Store but is no good for the users.

This is my first Expo/RN project. Would the same thing happen with a plain old React Native build?

Is there any way for me to bundle my images/audio files in my current Expo build? I’ve found Expo to be great so far but this would be a deal breaker for me going forward.

Thanks