There is no need to purchase an expensive Apple iPad for a single use situation like this. I would 100% recommend using Mixing Station along with an inexpensive Android tablet in the 10-12″ range. There are plenty of options in the $150-250 range that work fine. Something like the Lenovo Tab P11 would make an excellent Mixing Station host and it is a fraction of the cost of an iPad. Honestly the Mixing Station app is 100% better than the Allen and Heath software and actually gives more functionality – like layers, DCAs, and mute groups – that the stock software does not have.
PS – I actually have used several cheap Android tablets with Mixing Station and they all work really well and are very “snappy”. I still occationally use a Lenovo Tab 2 which is about 8 years old now still works great with Mixing Station. There is no perceivable slowness using that app on that hardware (other apps yes, but not Mixing Station).